Lalu-Nitish beat BJP in Bihar bypoll, title clash in 2015

Zee Media bureau/Ajith Vijay Kumar

New Delhi/Patna: With the Lalu Prasad Yadav-Nitish Kumar combine having gained the upper hand in the bypoll held for 10 seats in Bihar, all eyes are now on the changing political dynamics ahead of the big battle in 2015, when assembly elections would be held in the state.

Though the `grand alliance` managed to win only six seats, the victory certainly comes as psychological advantage to the alliance partners after the washout in Lok Sabha polls.

The RJD and the JD(U) dubbed the BJP`s loss as a indication of people`s resentment to the policies of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre only to elicit a strong response from the state unit of the BJP.

“Modi ji`s government has nothing to do with the poll results”, said party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain.

However, the results presents a great challenge to new BJP president Amit Shah as he works to replicate his Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha success elsewhere in the country.

While Lalu and Nitish may have no other option than to stick together and put up a united fight against the BJP in the assembly elections, the bypoll results may also be the first step in what can turn out to be a pan-India consolidation of anti-BJP forces.

Bypoll results as it happened:

2:50 pm Senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi tweeted: “We accept the verdict. LS we won,bye elections they won, it is 1-1.We will review, make amends & make all effort to win the final round (sic)."

We accept the verdict.LS we won,bye elections they won ,it is 1-1.We will review ,make amends & make all effort to win the final round.

— Sushil Kumar Modi (@SushilModi) August 25, 2014

In 2009 NDA won 32 LS seats in Bihar but lost 13 out of 18 Assembly bye election seats & again returned with 3/4 majority after 10 months.— Sushil Kumar Modi (@SushilModi) August 25, 2014

2:15 pm JD(U) leader and former chief minister Nitish Kumar expresses happiness with the bypoll victory.

“The election was very important and the voters of Bihar have voted in clear terms, I thank them for the same,” he said.

“I had made no claims during the entire poll campaign. But there were many others who were making claims of victory. The clear verdict, which has come close to the Lok Sabha polls, indicates that the people of Bihar has rejected the politics of divisiveness. The results is a victory of the politics of harmony, Nitish stressed.

“The results could have been better. An experiment was done and it has turned out to be successful,” he added.

1:55 pm There was some problem in NDA leadership in Bihar. I accept defeat on behalf on NDA`s Bihar unit. Reason for defeat could that there is no Bhumihar face in Modi cabinet, says Upendra Kushwaha of Rashtriya Lok Samata Party .

1:30 pm Congress`s Ajeet Kumsar Sharma wins Bhagalpur seat in Bihar bypoll. The seat was with the BJP since 1990.

1:22 pm We have won two bypolls after coming to power,a clear indication that there is support for our policies, says Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

1:18 pm All have gained from the alliance (RJD-JDU-Congress), a positive sign, says Congress` Shakeel Ahmad.

1:15 pm Awadesh Singh of BJP wins Hajipur bypoll.

1:05 pm RJD registers one more victory in Bihar bypoll. Party candidate Randhir Kumar Singh wins the prestigious Chapra seat.

1 pm Lalu Prasad Yadav has expressed happiness at the victory of `grand alliance` in Bihar. The RJD chief was rushed to Asian Heart Institute in Mumbai early today for a `routine check up`.

The 66-year-old leader has been suffering from heart-related ailments and is likely to undergo heart valve replacement surgery, reports said.

12:55 pm Nitish Kumar`s JD(U) register first win in Bihar bypoll. Party candidate Rishi Mishra wins Jale seat. It was previously held by Hukm Deo Narayan Yadav of the BJP.

12:50 pm Niranjan Ram of the BJP wins Mohania seat in Bihar. The seat was previously held by the JD(U).

12:45 pm BJP`s Ramnarayan Mandal wins Banka seat in Bihar.

12:37 pm The results are not to our expectation. We had thought that we would be able to beat the two vote banks of Lalu ji and Nitish ji but we failed to do so. The state leadership takes full responsibility of the defeat and it has nothing to do with Modi ji`s government at Centre, says Shahnawaz Hussain of BJP.

12:33 We could not prepare fully otherwise we would have won all 10 seats. But the result is enough to send across a “message” in the country, says JD(U) president Sharad Yadav.

12:30 pm Shirmoani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate Jeet Mohinder Singh wins Talwandi Sabo seat in Punjab. The seat was vacated by Harsimrat Kaur Badal after she was elected to the Lok Sabha. Patiala, the other seat where bypoll was held in the state, was won by Perneet Kaur of the Congress. Also Read:Akali Dal wins Talwandi Sabo Assembly seat

12:20 pm BJP vice president BS Yeddyurappa son BY Raghavendra wins Shikaripura seat in Karnataka. The seat felt vacant after Yeddyurappa won the Lok Sabha election from Shimoga.

12:01 pm The Lalu Prasad Yadav-Nitish Kumar appears to have halted the BJP`s victory march in Bihar. The `grand alliance` of RJD, JD(U) and Congress has won/leading in 7 seats of the 10 that went to polls. RJD has won Mohiuddinagar and Rajnagar seats, while the BJP has won Narkatiaganj seat and is ahead in two other seats. While the BJP has been quick to dismiss any relationship between the poll drubbing and the performance of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre, the opposition parties claim that the poll results are indicative of the weakening of the “Modi wave”.

11:20 am RJD`s Ajay Kumar Bulganin beats Nityanand Rai of BJP to win Mohiuddinnagar seat in Bihar.

11:10 am BJP`s Rashmi Varma wins Narkatiganj seat in Bihar. 11:05 am Congress` NY Gopalakrishna wins Bellary Rural seat in Karnataka by a margin of over 33142 votes.

Also Read:Cong wrests seat from BJP, leads in another, BJP ahead in one

11 am BJP`s Gopal Parmar has won against Rajkumar Gore of Congress from Agar seat in Madhya Pradesh

10:45 am If the latest trends translate into seats, the `grand alliance` of RJD, JD(U) and Congress is set to win 6 of the 10 seats where bypolls were held in Bihar. The BJP is ahead only in four seats Narkatiaganj, Rajnagar and Mohania.

10:25 am Congress candidate Perneet Kaur wins Patiala bypoll by over 23,000 votes. SAD leading in Talwandi Sabo.

10:05 am The united opposition of RJD, JD(U) and Congress is giving a tough fight to BJP in Bihar. As per the latest trends, the `grand alliance` and the BJP is ahead in five seats each of the 10 seats that went to polls. The BJP was ahead in Jale seat in early rounds before the JD(U) surged ahead.

9:45 am Bihar - latest trends : BJP ahead in Rajnagar, Jale, Mohania, Hajipur, Banka and Narkatiaganj. Grand alliance leading in Mohiuddinagar (RJD), Chapra (RJD), Bhagalpur (Congress) and Parbatta (JDU).

9:40 am BJP leading in all three seats - Bahoriband, Vijayraghavgarh and Agar – in MP.

9:35 am Karanataka bypoll trends: Congress ahead in Chikodi-Sadalaga and Bellary Rural. BJP leading in Shikaripura.

9:15 am Bihar – latest trends: BJP ahead in Rajnagar, Jale, Mohania. Grand alliance leading in Mohiuddinagar (RJD), Chapra (RJD), Narkatiaganj (Congress), Bhagalpur (Congress), Parbatta (JDU). Trends awaited for Hajipur, Banka.

8:55 am Bihar - first trends: BJP candidate ahead in Rajnagar, Jale, Narkatiaganj and Mohania; RJD leading in Mohiuddinagar and Chapra.

8:45 am Madhya Pradesh bypoll: BJP leading in Bahoriband, Agar.

8:30 am Congress` Perneet Kaur takes early lead in Patiala, Punjab

Also Read:Preneet Kaur wins Patiala bypoll 8 am Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has taken ill and has been rushed to Mumbai for a medical assistance. Bihar: 10 seats

The `semi-final` ahead of the Assembly elections next year is a high-stakes game for ruling JD(U), its alliance partners Congress and RJD and the opposition BJP. The by-polls were held in 10 Assembly constituencies - Hajipur, Chapra, Mohiuddinagar, Parbatta, Bhagalpur, Rajnagar (SC), Jale, Mohania (SC), Narkatiaganj, Banka. The elections were necessitated after MLAs representing five of the them got elected to the Lok Sabha, while the rest fell vacant due to resignations.

While the BJP hopes to consolidate on the gains it made in the Lok Sabha elections in May when the “Modi wave” had resulted in big gains for the party. Also, the BJP had won six out of the 10 seats in the 2010 Assembly election.

The BJP had contested 9 seats and left one seat for its partner Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP).

On the other hand, the grand alliance partner RJD and JD(U) contested four seats each, leaving two seats for the Congress.

The voters turnout was around 47 per cent during the bypoll. In total 94 candidates are testing their fate in the bypoll. Punjab: Patiala, Talwandi Sabo

The prestige of ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is at stake in Punjab as the party fights to make a comeback after the reverses it encountered in Lok Sabha polls.

Madhya Pradesh: Bahoriband, Vijayraghavgarh and Agar

Counting has begun in Bahoriband, Vijayraghavgarh, Agar seats.

If the ruling BJP manages a clean sweep, the results would be seen as a reaffirmation of the continued popularity of Chief Minsiter Shivraj Singh Chauhan. Karnataka: Chikodi-Sadalaga, Bellary Rural, Shikaripura

While Chief Minister Siddaramaiah aims to manage a clean sweep, the spirited effort put by the BJP, especially BJP vice-president BS Yeddyurappa has made the task difficult.