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The ruling National Democratic Alliance 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 Janata Dal-United 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.
However, the RJD is likely to be proud of its victories in seats like Patna (Kartik Kumar), which is seen as an NDA bastion, and Munger (Ajay Singh) where Sanjay Prasad, who previously held the seat, was fielded this time by the JD-U.
An RJD delegation led by its MLA-cum-chief spokesman Bhai Virendra called on the Chief Electoral Officer to complain about “irregularities in counting of votes” in the Saharsa-Madhepura-Supaul seat. The party's Ajay Singh was ultimately declared the winner.
The seat was earlier held by Nutan Singh, whose husband Niraj Singh Bablu is a minister in the state cabinet. She was again fielded by the BJP this time.
RJD de facto leader Tejashwi Yadav's gamble to field a large number of upper caste candidates and shed the “MY” (Muslim-Yadav) label inherited from his father seemed to have paid off to some extent.
Four of the party's victorious candidates are from the numerically small but socially and politically influential group. More importantly, three of the RJD winners are Bhumihars, the caste said to be most hostile towards Lalu Prasad and his party.
With its current show, the RJD now has enough numbers in the 75-strong legislative council for its leader Rabri Devi to retain the post of the leader of the opposition.