Bihar poll result: Tejashwi-Tej Pratap win, Luv Sinha loses, Manjhi safeguards his seat

The Bihar assembly elections results were declared around midnight on November 10-November 11, with the ruling coalition - NDA winning 125 in the 243-member assembly, against Mahagathbandhan's 110.  Even as the contest remained neck and neck throughout the day, RJD under the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav, became the single largest party with 75 seats, followed by BJP's 74. While Chirag Paswan's LJP won one seat, it made a major dent in JDU's tally that has come down to 43 from 71 in 2015. The biggest clincher is Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM winning 5 seats and CPI-ML  winning 12 seats. The other two left parties - CPI and CPI-M won two each. The other two alliance partners of NDA - HAM and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) won four seats each.

Here are the VIP candidates who won or lost:

Hasanpur - Tej Pratap Yadav wins

In what will no doubt come as a relief to the Yadav family, Tej Pratap Yadav, elder brother to Mahagathbandhan CM-face Tejashwi, has emerged victorious from the Hasanpur Assembly Constituency by 21,139 votes, as per the Election Commission of India (ECI). It seems like Tej Pratap's decision to eschew the Mahua constituency and adopt Hasanpur seems to have paid off for the RJD leader who was pitted against formidable sitting legislator- JD(U)'s Raj Kumar Rai who had been holding the fort since 2010. Tej Pratap had abandoned the Mahua constituency in Vaishali district from where he was elected in 2015 and filed his nomination papers from Hasanpur after rumors that his estranged wife Aishwarya Rai may contest from his Mahua seat, which ultimately did not happen. 

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Imamganj: Jitan Ram Manjhi wins 

Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi has won from Imamganj Assembly constituency against 4-time MLA and veteran Dalit leader RJD's Uday Narayan Choudhary. While Manjhi is the sitting MLA of Imamganj, Choudhary who flipped from JDU to RJD after losing to Manjhi in 2015 - had the home advantage having held the seat since 1990. The other main candidates were Jitendra Kumar Paswan of RLSP and LJP's Shobha Sinha. The exit polls predicted Manjhi's defeat, however, trends flipped on the day of counting. 

READ | Bihar results: Owaisi thanks Seemanchal as AIMIM eyes 5 seats; tightlipped on RJD alliance

Raghopur - Tejashwi Yadav wins

Tejashwi Yadav won from Raghopur with a margin of 38174 votes against BJP's Satish Kumar.  As per census data, 1.30 lakh Yadavs form the bulk of the voters, the constituency has a significant presence of upper-caste Rajputs, whose electorate size is estimated at around 40,000 followed by Muslims at 22,000 and Paswans at 18,000. In 2015, then 25-year-old Tejashwi defeated BJP's Kumar when the BJP had gone solo. While it has been a Lalu Yadav bastion in 1995, 2000, 2005 - Tejashwi has campaigned only once in Raghopur in 2020, unlike his competitors who have been canvassing extensively.

Bankipur - Luv Sinha loses

Shatrughan Sinha, who parted ways from the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2019, and joined Congress had contested unsuccessfully from the Patna Sahib constituency. His son Luv Sinha was pitted against BJP's three-time MLA Nitin Nabin from Bankipur and has now lost the election with a margin of 39036 votes. The sitting BJP MLA Nabin has won the seat since 2005 and his father Navan Kishor Prasad Sinha had held the seat from 1995 for the BJP.  

Sikti - Vijay Kumar Mandal wins

BJP's Vijay Kumar Mandal won against RJD's Shatrughan Mandal from Sikti assembly constituency, situated in Araria district. The seat was one of the 20 constituencies where BJP and RJD are in a direct contest. In 2015, Vijay Mandal had defeated Suman by 8,106 votes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Forbesganj (Araria district) on the last day of his election campaigning enlisted the works of Nitish led government. However, the seat has a large presence of Yadav and Muslim voters - vote bank of the RJD.

READ | NDA Wins Bihar For Nitish Kumar; Tejashwi's RJD Single Largest; LJP Dents JDU's Number

Parsa - Chandrika Rai loses

Chote Lal Ray of RJD won against Chandrika Rai - former RJD leader who joined JDU ahead of polls. More than the electoral battle, the Parsa assembly segment in Saran district is witnessing a fight playing out between the families of two Yadav giants of Bihar politics -- Lalu Prasad and Chandrika Roy. The marital dispute between Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav and Aishwarya Rai, a daughter of Chandrika Roy, has its shadow in the poll battle on this seat which votes on November 3. Located in the Saran district, Parsa assembly constituency forms a part of Chapra Lok Sabha seat, which the RJD supremo has represented four times.    

Madhepura - Pappu Yadav loses

RJD's Chnadra Shekhar won with a margin of 15072 votes against JDU's Nikhil Mandal, while Pappu Yadav is a distant third. Stitching an alliance - Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA) - with Chandrashekhar Azad's Azad Samaj Party, MK Faizi's Social Democratic Party and Bahujan Mukti Party - former Madhepura MP and Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) head Pappu Yadav presented himself as the CM candidate in this year's election. 

Bihariganj - Subhashini loses

Sharad Yadav's daughter Subhashini Raj Rao who joined Congress ahead of polls lost from Bihariganj. Niranjan kumar mehta if Janata Dal (United) won. A part of the Madhepura Lok Sabha seat, Bihariganj polled in the third and last phase. Though Madhepura seat would have been an ideal launchpad for her, the Congress had to settle with Bihariganj as in the seat-sharing arrangement Madhepura went to the RJD, which has re-nominated its old hand, Chandrasekhar. In her maiden electoral plunge, Subhashini is pitted against two times JD(U) MLA Niranjan Mehta, Lok Janshakti Party candidate Vijay Kumar Singh and Prabhash Kumar of Janadhikar Party (JAP), 

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