Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 23: The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has swept all four Assembly seats in Bihar for which byelections were held on November 13 and the votes counted on Saturday.
Three of these seats – Tarari, Ramgarh and Belaganj – were previously held by Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and Imamganj seat by the NDA. Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj party failed to make a mark in its poll debut with its candidates suffering a severe drubbing on all four seats.
The BJP won Tarari and Ramgarh while its ally Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] candidate Manorama Devi bagged Belaganj. Another NDA constituent Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) candidate Deepa Manjhi, who is the daughter-in-law of party chief and Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, defeated Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Roshan Manjhi in Imamganj.
The RJD, which previously held Ramgarh and Belaganj, drew a blank this time. The CPI(ML), which won Tarari for the last two terms, failed to retain the seat this time. BJP’s Vishal Prashant won it defeating CPI(ML)‘s Raju Yadav. In Ramgarh, BJP’s Ashok Kumar Singh defeated Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) Satish Singh Yadav alias Pintu Yadav. RJD’s Ajit Singh came third here.
The candidates of Jan Suraaj party, floated by poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor who had scripted win for several parties in different States in the past, were handed severe defeats on all four seats. The party’s Kiran Singh in Tarari, Mohd. Amjad in Belaganj and Dr Jitendra Paswan in Imamganj came third, while Sushil Kumar Singh Kushwaha was relegated to fourth position in Ramgarh. Mr Kishor launched the party on October 2 this year and had taken out a whirlwind campaign for the bypolls.
Like the NDA in Bihar, the Trinamool Congress swept the bypolls in neighbouring West Bengal winning all the six seats where the byelections were held. The State’s ruling party retained Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, Taldangra and Sitai Assembly, which it had won in the 2021 Assembly polls and also won the Madarihat seat which the BJP had won in the last Assembly polls.
The results also assume significance as it comes after sustained protests over the rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. The victory of the Trinamool Congress in six Assembly polls across five districts indicates that protests did not make any dent in the electoral prospects of Trinamool Congress, particularly in rural areas.
The seats have fallen vacant after the MLAs representing the Assembly constituencies were elected to Lok Sabha earlier this year. The results at the Haroa Assembly constituency, where Trinamool Congress candidate S. K. Rabiul Islam won by a margin of 1.31 lakh votes threw an interesting surprise as the Indian Secular Front candidate finished second securing more votes than the BJP nominee. Haroa, located in North 24 Parganas district is a minority-dominated constituency and it fell vacant after Haji Nurul Islam the MLA from the seat contested and won Lok Sabha elections at Basirhat.
The chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the party’s general secretary Abhishek Banerjee congratulated party supporters for the victory in the bypolls. While the Chief Minister thanked ‘Maa, Mati and Manush’ for the victory, her nephew thanked the people of the State “for democratically dismantling the Bangla Birodhis, their fake narratives and reaffirming their trust in us”.
“Congratulations to all six AITC official candidates for their decisive victories in the WB bye elections, defying the narratives created by the ZAMINDARS, the media and a section of the Kolkata HC to defame Bengal for their own vested interests. A special thanks to the people of Madarihat for giving us the opportunity to serve you for the first time,” the party general secretary said. Madarihat was always considered to be a BJP stronghold.
The West Bengal unit of the BJP, however, said the results were on expected lines as in the bypolls the State’s ruling party has an edge but expressed the confidence that the results would be different in 2026 state Assembly elections. “Do not get worried… we will win these seats in 2026,” Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said. State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar also gave examples of how the seats which the party has lost in by polls, it has reclaimed such constituencies in the past.
The bypolls were also interesting as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) led Left Front and the Congress party have fielded candidates separately on all the six seats. Both the parties could not make an electoral impact in the by-polls.
In the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, the bypoll results favoured the NDA-BJP candidates winning seven of the nine seats leaving only two to its arch rival Samajwadi Party. While the BJP won six seats, its alliance partner Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) claimed one.
“The victory of the BJP-NDA in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly by-elections is proof of people’s unwavering faith in the successful leadership and guidance of the esteemed Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji,” the chief minister Yogi Adityanath said in a post on X.
“This victory is the result of security, good governance and public welfare policies of the double engine government and the tireless hard work of dedicated workers,” Mr Adityanath added, expressing gratitude to the people of the state. “Hearty congratulations to all the winning candidates! If we are divided we will be cut. If we stay united we will be safe,” he said.
