Bihar Bypolls Results 2024 LIVE: The counting of votes for the bypolls to four Assembly seats is underway in Bihar. These seats --Tarari, Ramgarh, Belaganj and Imamganj became vacant after MLAs representing them were elected in the Lok Sabha elections held this year. Out of the four seats, three were held by the I.N.D.I.A bloc (two by Rashtriya Janata Dal - Belaganj and Ramgarh) and one by the CPI-ML (Tarari), while one seat was held by the NDA partner Hindstani Awam Morcha (Imamganj). The voting was held on November 13. According to the Election Commission, a voter turnout of 52.84 per cent was registered in the byelections to four Bihar Assembly seats.
Here are details of each of the four seats:
Tarari Assembly Seat
Tarari Assembly seat witnessed a contest between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Vishal Prashant and CPI(ML)'s Raju Yadav. As per the Election Commission, Prashant is leading by 132 votes in early trends. Prashant is the son of former several-term MLA Sunil Pandey who was the runner-up in 2020 while contesting as an Independent. However, Yadav hopes to retain the seat for his party which had won two times on the trot by Sudama Prasad, the current MP from Arrah. Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj fielded local social activist Kiran Singh from this seat. According to Election Commission data, Tarari recorded 50.10 per cent voter turnout. The bypoll in Tarari was necessitated by the election of CPI(ML)'s Sudama Prasad to Lok Sabha from Arrah.
Ramgarh Assembly Seat
Ramgarh Assembly seat witnessed a contest between Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Ajit Kumar Singh, BJP's Ashok Kumar Singh and Bahujan Samaj Party's Satish Kumar Singh Yadav. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) website, BSP's Yadav is leading in Ramgarh by 25,000 votes. Ajit Kumar Singh is the son of state party chief Jagadanand Singh and hopes to retain the seat that fell vacant upon the election of brother Sudhakar to the Lok Sabha from Buxar. Notably, BJP's Ashok Kumar Singh had won the seat in 2015 but was humiliated five years later when he finished third. According to Election Commission data, Ramgarh recorded 54.02 per cent voter turnout.
Belaganj Assembly Seat
Belaganj Assembly seat saw a battle between RJD's Vishwanath Kumar Singh and JD(U) candidate Manorama Devi. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) website, Devi is currently leading by over 25,000 votes. Notably, Vishwanath Kumar Singh is the son of Surendra Prasad Yadav whose election to the Lok Sabha from Jehanabad necessitated the byelection at this seat. Of the four constituencies, Belaganj had the highest number of 14 candidates. According to Election Commission data, Belaganj recorded 56.21 per cent voter turnout.
Imamganj Assembly Seat
Imamganj Assembly seat witnessed a contest between Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) candidate Deepa Kumari and RJD's Raushan Manjhi. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) website, HAM's Kumari is leading in Imamganj by 29,000 votes. The seat is reserved for Scheduled Caste. Notably, Deepa is the daughter-in-law of HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi. The bypoll at Imamganj seat was necessitated by the election of Jitan Ram Manjhi to the Lok Sabha. Other candidates who contested from this seat are Kanchan Paswan (AIMIM) and Jitendra Paswan (Jan Suraaj).