Bihar Assembly bypoll: Independent candidate Shankar Singh defeats RJD and JD(U)

Independent candidate and former MLA Shankar Singh defeated Janata Dal (United) candidate Kaladhar Prasad Mandal and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Bima Bharti in the byelection for the Rupauli Assembly seat in Bihar’s Purnia district.

Mr. Singh received 68,070 votes whereas Mr. Mandal got 59,824 votes. Ms. Bharti, who had also contested the recently concluded Lok Sabha election from the Purnea seat, came in third with with 30,619 votes in the byelection.

The defeats of the INDIA bloc and NDA candidates came in spite of campaigning by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Mr. Singh had represented the Rupauli Assembly seat once from February 2005 to November 2005 after winning on a Lok Janshakti Party ticket.

Mr. Singh not only won the election with a good margin but also defeated five term MLA Ms. Bharti. Even the support of Purnia MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav could not save the RJD candidate. The seat has fallen vacant after Ms. Bharti had resigned during Lok Sabha election while contesting as the RJD candidate.

Mr. Singh is a popular strongman in his area. According to the election affidavit, at least 19 cases are lodged against him in different police stations in Purnia.

He also runs the notorious North Liberation Army (NLA), a militia group formed by sitting JD(U) MLA Lesi Singh’s husband Butan Singh. After his murder in 2000, Mr. Singh took charge of the group, which has been involved in several caste conflicts. The group, which claims to represent the Rajput community, is known to have created division between the backward and forward castes in the region.

Mr. Singh’s victory also reveals the shifting dynamics of the regions’ caste composition. The Rupauli seat has a large chunk of Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) and both Mr. Bharti and Mr. Mandal belong to the EBC Gangota community.

Mr. Singh also received a lot of support at Maldih, the native village of the deceased Bollywood Sushant Singh Rajput. He had announced before the election results that if he wins then special attention will be given to Sushant Singh Rajput’s village and will install his statue in the village.

After winning the election, Mr. Singh said, “I want to thank the people of Rupauli who voted for me and secured my victory. The people of my constituency are like god to me and will ensure its development. My first priority would be a degree college in Rupauli and ten panchayats in south Rupauli are always affected due to floods so there is a need for a ring dam. At several places there are no no bridges which connect six to seven panchayats. As far as going to INDIA or NDA bloc or forming my party, the people of Rupauli will decide.”

Reacting on the result, NDA partner and Rashtriya Lok Morcha leader Upendra Kushwaha posted a message on social media X (formerly Twiiter) saying, “The defeat of the JD(U) candidate in Rupauli is a cause of worry for the NDA. However, there is also satisfaction that the public is still not ready to spare the party responsible for the situation in the State before 2005. This is the clear message of the byelection.”