Bihar bypoll: RJD wins crucial Jokihat seat; JD-U says rising fuel prices reason behind defeat

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Thursday defeated Janata Dal-United (JD-S) in Bihar’s crucial Jokihat Assembly bypoll, which was being touted as a prestige battle for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

RJD candidate Shahnawaz Alam defeated JD-U’s Murshid Alam by a huge margin of over 41,000 votes, Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Baiju Nath Kumar said. Jokihat Assembly constituency, which falls in Muslims dominated Araria district of Bihar, was held by JD(U) during the 2015 state elections.

Reacting to the party’s victory, former Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav said that the victory was people’s revenge with Nitish Kumar for stitching an “unholy” alliance with the BJP.

“The number of votes JDU got, is less than our victory margin. People of Bihar are continuing to avenge the U-turn taken by Nitish Kumar,” Yadav said.

However, senior JD-U leader KC Tygai held people’s outrage over rising fuel prices responsible for the results.

“There is outrage across the country due to increase in price of petrol & diesel. Constant rise in the price of fuel is also a reason for such poll results. Therefore, hike should be immediately rolled back,” Tyagi said.

The Jokihat bypoll defeat came as a major jolt to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who dumped RJD and Congress last year to join hands with BJP to form a new coalition government in Bihar.

(With inputs from PTI)