Bihar Bypolls: NDA wins all four assembly seats, Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj flops on poll debut

Bihar’s ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) swept the bypolls to four assembly constituencies, retaining Imamganj and capturing Tarari, Ramgarh and Belaganj from the INDIA bloc. This triumph ahead of the 2025 assembly elections gives the NDA a major boost.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won Tarari and Ramgarh while its ally Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] candidate Manorama Devi bagged Belaganj. Another NDA constituent Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) candidate Deepa Manjhi, who is the daughter-in-law of party chief and Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, defeated Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Roshan Manjhi in Imamganj.

Of the four seats, two went to the BJP, while JD(U) and HAM-S claimed one each. Vishal Prashant of the BJP won in Tarari, while Ashok Kumar Singh won in Ramgarh. JD(U)’s Manorama Devi triumphed in Belaganj and Deepa Kumari, daughter-in-law of Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, secured the Imamganj seat, traditionally considered the stronghold of her family.

In Belaganj, JD(U)’s Manorama Devi defeated RJD’s Vishwanath Kumar Singh with a decisive margin of over 21,000 votes. In Ramgarh and Tarari, the BJP showed its strength with Ashok Kumar Singh securing a win in Ramgarh and Vishal Prashant defeating CPI(ML)’s Raju Yadav by more than 10,000 votes in Tarari. Despite Jan Suraaj’s best performance in Imamganj with Jitendra Paswan’s 22% vote share, HAM-S’s Deepa Kumari defeated RJD’s Raushan Kumar by nearly 6,000 votes.

Celebrating the NDA’s victory, JD(U) national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said, “The people of Bihar have rejected the opposition’s negativity and reposed their trust in CM Nitish Kumar. Under his leadership, the NDA will secure more than 200 seats in the 2025 assembly elections.”

Jan Suraaj fails on poll debut

Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj party failed to make a mark in its poll debut with its candidates suffering a severe drubbing on all four seats.

Except for Imamganj, where Jan Suraaj’s candidate Jitendra Paswan garnered over 22% of the votes, the party struggled in the other three constituencies. In Tarari, Ramgarh and Belaganj, Kishor’s candidates secured less than 4% of the votes in Tarari and Ramgarh and 10.66% in Belaganj. The most significant blow for the RJD-led INDIA bloc came in Belaganj, a seat it had held since the 1990s, which was lost to CM Nitish Kumar’s JD(U).

Kishor, despite his party’s poor showing, remained optimistic, citing their 10% vote share in areas with limited presence. He acknowledged the challenges, such as receiving the party’s symbol after the nomination deadline, but reaffirmed Jan Suraaj’s commitment to contest all 243 seats in the upcoming elections.

RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, while recognising the setback, maintained a positive outlook, saying that the Mahagathbandhan would form the next govt in Bihar. He dismissed the bypoll losses as temporary, citing previous leads in these constituencies during the Lok Sabha elections and expressing confidence about their prospects in 2025.

The bypoll results have given the NDA a confidence boost while presenting challenges for both the INDIA bloc and the new Jan Suraaj party as they prepare for the 2025 assembly elections.