The bypoll results on Sunday were a draw (1-1) in the two constituencies in Bihar.
The Mokama by-election was won by Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Neelam Devi, who was also the Mahagathbandhan candidate, while the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kusum Devi, who is a widow of the ex-MLA Subhash Singh (whose death led to the seat being vacant), won the Gopalganj election.
IN MOKAMA
Neelam Devi managed to get 79,744 votes compared to the BJP’s Sonam Devi who got 63,003 votes.
Mokama constituency has over 2.78 lakh voters and the voter turnout was 53.38% compared to 54.52% in 2020. There were as many as 15 candidates, but the main electoral battle was between RJD’s Neelam Devi and BJP’s Sonam Devi. Both the candidates’ husbands are strongmen (bahubalis) of Mokama — Anant Singh and Lalan Singh, respectively. The former defeated the latter by 16,741 votes as District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh announced the winner (Neelam Devi) after 21 rounds of counting.
#BiharByElection | This is the win of the people of Mokama & the defeat of BJP's pride. We knew the win would be ours, as we had the blessings of the people of Mokama, says RJD's Neelam Devi, after winning the Mokama by-poll https://t.co/XofOSBAnI7 pic.twitter.com/7h0Dsi9fie— ANI (@ANI) November 6, 2022
The Bahubali turf of Mokama remained intact in the hands of Anant Singh alias Chote Sarkar. Anant Singh who lost his membership in Legislative Assembly of Bihar after getting 10 years imprisonment in a case pertaining to Arms Act had handed over the baton to his wife Neelam Devi. Neelam Devi, after getting her winning certificate, said it was the victory of people of Mokama and defeat of the BJP’s pride. She showed her gratitude to the people of Mokama for their blessings.
IN GOPALGANJ
When the counting of 24 rounds was taking place in Gopalganj, the BJP workers, who were already celebrating their win, were worried in two rounds. In the 20th and 21st rounds, the RJD candidate suddenly started leading by 1,135 and 65 votes, respectively, but the game changed in the 22nd round. Finally, Kusum Devi won the election with a difference of 1,794 votes, defeating RJD’s Mohan Prasad Gupta. Kusum Devi secured 70,053 votes, whereas Mohan Prasad Gupta got 68,259 votes.
#BiharByElection | The entire Gopalganj district is with me. Victory for everyone is my victory. I will carry forward the development work that did not get completed. I was blessed by everyone: BJP's Kusum Devi after winning the Gopalganj by-election pic.twitter.com/IHwmltEtdE— ANI (@ANI) November 6, 2022
Kusum Devi said that it was a real tribute to her husband by the people of Gopalganj. RJD minister Alok Mehta said that they had performed better in Gopalganj and improvements could be seen as the margin of votes decreased significantly compared to the loss during the last time.
THE REACTIONS
Soon after the results were out, BJP’s state president Sanjay Jaiswal said, “The margin is the least in the history of Mokama and our party has done extremely well, considering it was for the first time that the saffron party had contested election in this constituency in 27 years. Winning Gopalganj is also important because we were able to defeat the RJD candidate even though she was supported by the Mahagathbandhan.”
BJP continues to win big in by-polls. BJP’s Smt Kusum Devi wins Gopalganj in Bihar against Nitish Kumar-Lalu Prasad ‘Mahagathbandhan’. Shri Aman Giri wins Gol Gorakhnath in UP. Shri Bhavya Bishnoi wins Adampur in Haryana. AAP loses deposit. Congress is on Yatra…
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 6, 2022
Senior leader of BJP MP Sushil Modi in a video message claimed that Mokama was not a win for Mahagathbandhan, but Anant Singh. He said, “Anant Singh and his family have been winning the elections for the past six out of seven times, whether he fought on an RJD or Janata Dal United (JDU) seat or as independent candidate, people voted for him… Last time, Anant Singh defeated his JDU rival with more than 35,000 votes and this time, the BJP, which had contested for the first time, managed to secure more than 60,000 votes and lost with a margin of just 16000.”
He even thanked the JDU supporters who voted for the saffron party.
THE HIDDEN MESSAGE
Mokama and Gopalganj by-election results have a hidden message.
Although the saffron party lost Mokama, getting over 60,000 votes clearly hints that the JDU voters shifted to BJP. Also, the BJP managed to keep its Gopalganj seat, even after its former ally JDU stood against it. This could be worrisome for chief minister Nitish Kumar who was earlier an ally of the BJP.
Now that the JDU and RJD are in alliance, losing Gopalganj and winning Mokama with the least margin ever is a matter of concern for the Mahagathbandhan.
Nonetheless, the BJP cadre sees it as a good sign for the saffron party’s future upcoming general elections in 2024 as well as assembly elections in 2025.
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