Bihar bypolls: NDA leading on three seats, BSP on one

Patna, Nov 23 (IANS) National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidates were leading on three seats while Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was ahead on one seat as trends for the Bihar bypolls started pouring in on Saturday.

The counting of votes started at 8 a.m. in Ramgarh, Tarari, Imamganj, and Belaganj Assembly constituencies.

In Imamganj, NDA candidate Deepa Manjhi, the daughter-in-law of Union Minister and HAM (Secular) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi, was leading by 608 votes after the fifth round of counting. RJD's Raushan Kumar and Jan Suraaj Party's Jitendra Paswan were trailing in second and third positions respectively.

In Tarari, BJP's Vishal Prashant has established a lead of 5,500 votes after the third round of counting. CPI-ML candidate Raju Yadav was trailing here.

In Ramgarh (Kaimur district), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Satish Kumar Singh Yadav, nephew of former MLA Ambika Singh, was leading with 7,531 votes after the third round of counting. BJP's Ashok Kumar Singh was in second place and RJD's Ajit Singh, son of RJD state president Jagdanand Singh and brother of Buxar MP Sudhakar Singh, was in third spot.

Belaganj (Gaya District) NDA candidate Manorama Devi of Janata Dal-United was leading with 18,322 votes after the third round of counting. RJD’s candidate Vishwanath Singh, son of RJD MP Surendra Yadav, was in second place with 13,367 votes and Jan Suraaj’s candidate Mohammad Amjad at third spot.

The trends show a tight contest, with NDA performing well in Belaganj, Tarari and Imamganj and BSP maintaining an edge in Ramgarh.

In the 2020 Assembly elections, the Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan) held three out of the four seats that went to bypolls.

Meanwhile, the Jan Suraaj Party, led by Prashant Kishor, which entered the fray with high ambitions of establishing as a third political force challenging both the NDA and the Grand Alliance, has not lived up to its claims. Its candidates are currently trailing in third and fourth positions, indicating limited impact in the electoral contest.