NDA retains upper hand in Bihar Council polls
Patna: The ruling NDA in Bihar retained its upper hand in the legislative council on Thursday, when it grabbed more than half of the 24 seats for which biennial polls were held a year behind schedule.
Lalu Prasad's RJD also managed to improve its tally by four as it grabbed six seats, though it had contested 23, the highest number for any party. The real surprise was, however, sprung by rebels contesting as Independents who won four of the local bodies' constituencies.
Terms of the two dozen seats had expired last year though elections were deferred because of a delay in Panchayat polls which could not be held in time on account of the COVID 19 pandemic.
The BJP won seven seats, out of 12 contested. The party faced an embarrassment in places like Saran, which fell into the kitty of Sachchidanand Rai, a veteran BJP leader who jumped into the fray as an Independent upon being denied a ticket from the seat he previously held.
The RJD faced similar humiliation at the hands of rebel Independents in Madhubani (Ambika Gulab Yadav) and Nawada (Ashok Yadav).
The Congress felt vindicated in East Champaran where Maheshwar Singh, the Independent candidate supported by it won. The party's own tally fell by one with only its Begusarai candidate Rajiv Singh registering a victory.
Rajnish Kuma of Begusarai who was contesting from Begusarai which he had won earlier, is said to have suffered on account of bhitarghaat (backstabbing) by local cadres allegedly instigated by MP and Union Minister Giriraj Singh with whom the former MLC is not known to share good equations. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) won five constituencies, resulting in a major diminution in its tally since it held eight of the vacant seats. However, its victories included an emphatic win in Nalanda (Reena Yadav), the CM's home turf, besides huge victories in Muzaffarpur by Dinesh Singh and Radhacharan Seth in Bhojpur. Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, the faction of late Ram Vilas Paswan's party headed by his rebellious brother Pashupati Kumar Paras, clinched Vaishali where Bhushan Rai defeated his nearest RJD rival.
