New Delhi:
Bihar Bypoll Results 2019 Live Updates: BIhar: The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) suffered a huge setback, losing four of the five assembly seats where by-elections were held in the state. However, the sole Lok Sabha seat which went to the polls, Samastipur, was retained by ally Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party. Prince Raj of LJP won the seat that was won by his father Ramchandra Paswan in 2019 lok sabha elections.
Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM opened its account in the state winning the Kisanganj seat.
The bypolls for one Lok Sabha and five assembly seats in Bihar was being touted as the semi-finals ahead of the assembly elections due next year.
The bypoll in Samastipur was necessitated by the death of sitting Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) MP Ramchandra Paswan. The assembly segments have fallen vacant upon the respective MLAs getting elected to the Lok Sabha.
NDA held Samastipur Lok Sabha seat besides all the poll-bound assembly segments barring Kishanganj, which was won by the Congress in the 2015 assembly polls.
The coalition, which comprises Chief Minister Nitish Kumars JD(U), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswans LJP, has been riding high since its astounding performance in the Lok Sabha polls in which it won 39 out of 40 seats besides wresting two assembly segments from Lalu Prasads RJD where by-elections were held simultaneously.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JDU lost three of the four seats it contested while BJP suffered defeat on the sole seat where it fielded a candidate. The assembly segments had fallen vacant upon the respective MLAs getting elected to the Lok Sabha. Most of the candidates in the by-elections are relatives of the former MLAs. However, most of these candidates with links to elected leaders, lost across the state.
JD (U) candidate Ajay Singh, husband of former MLA Kavita Singh, lost in the Daraunda seat. He was defeated by Independent candidate Karnjeet Singh aka Vyas Singh by a margin of 27,279 votes.
In Belhar, JDU candidate Laldhari Yadav, whose brother Giridhari Yadav had won the seat in 2015 assembly polls and is currently the MP from Banka, lost to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Ramdeo Yadav by 19,231 votes.
And in Kishanganj, Sayeda Banu, the mother of Congress MP Dr Jawed, came a poor third.
RJD wrested the Simri Bakhtiyarpur assembly seat from the ruling JDU in Bihar. RJD's Zafar Alam defeated JDUcandidate Arun Kumar by a comprehensive margin of 15,505 votes, the official said.
Nathnagar was the only seat where JDU managed to win with Lakshmikant Mandal finishing ahead of RJD's Rabiya Khatun.
First trend from Bihar: Dinesh Kumar Yadav of Vikassheel Insaan Party is leading from Simri Bakhtiarpur seat.
Counting of votes for Nathnagar, Simri Bakhtiyarpur Kishanganj, Belhar and Daraunda assembly constituencies in Bihar has started.
