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'Janata malik hai' - Nitish Kumar's terse reply after Bochahan bypoll loss
Bochahan bypoll: Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal registered a big win, with Amar Kumar Paswan securing over 82,000 votes to Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Baby Kumari's 46,000.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar was in no mood for questions Sunday when asked to comment on the ruling JDU-BJP's defeat yesterday in the Bochahan assembly bypoll. The Janata Dal (United) boss replied with a brusque 'janata malik hai' ('the people have spoken') when pressed on a defeat that saw Tejashwi Yadav and the RJD gain yet more ground.
Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal registered a big win in Saturday's bypoll, with Amar Paswan securing over 82,000 votes to Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Baby Kumari's 46,000.
The defeat doesn't affect the immediate balance of power but is more momentum for Yadav and the RJD, which shocked the BJP-JDU pair in the 2020 election, in which the RJD won 75 seats to emerge as the single-largest party.
READ: RJD wrests Bochahan assembly seat from ruling NDA in bypoll
It has also been seen as adding to tension between the ruling parties, given Nitish is seen the 'junior' partner after the JDU won 43 seats to the BJP's 74.
The BJP has been seen as taking the lead in several matters - which has strained ties with the JDU.
Claiming victory yesterday, the RJD predicted the rise of Yadav as chief minister - which no doubt further rankled Nitish Kumar, who sparked furious speculation last month after saying 'I wouldn't mind going to the Rajya Sabha'.
The bypoll result was also celebrated by the Vikasshheel Insaan Party, whose chief, Mukesh Sahni, was sacked as a minister by the BJP a few weeks ago.
READ: Bochahan bypoll: What BJP did to me, voters did to them - Sahni
The VIP's Geeta Kumari, finished a distant third to the RJD's Paswan - over 50,000 votes behind - but the nearly 30,000 votes she gathered have been seen as cutting into the BJP's share and aiding the RJD.
The bypoll was required after the death of the incumbent MLA - Musafir Paswan, who won the seat on a VIP ticket. His son, Amar Paswan, was expected to contest but differences with the party meant he jumped to the RJD.
With input from ANI
