PATNA: In a major victory against Nitish-Tejashwi's Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, the Bhartiya Janata party logged victory in the Kurhani Assembly bypoll on Thursday.

After 23 rounds of counting, Kedar Prasad Gupta of the BJP defeated Manoj Kushwaha of the JD(U) by a margin of 3,645 votes.

Manoj Kushwaha received 73,016 votes, while Kedar Gupta was able to secure 76,648 votes. Manoj Kushwaha departed the centre after the 22nd round of counting.

Anil Sahani of the RJD previously held the position, however, he was removed after being found guilty in LTA fraud.
The BJP has sent a strong message to the Mahagathbandhan, a seven-party coalition in power in Bihar, with this victory. For the chief minister Nitish Kumar and the deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, this seat was also a prestige matter. Lalan Singh, the national head of the JD(U), had even set up camp in Kurhani for the majority of the time to keep this seat. The Mahagathbandhan may be affected if Manoj Kushwaha loses in the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2025 Assembly elections.

The JD(U) and RJD have been preparing to discredit the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election since the creation of the grand coalition government in Bihar. But in just two months, the BJP has triumphed in two by-elections, Gopalganj and Kurhani.

BJP Rajya Sabha Member Sushil Kumar Modi said: "The Mahagathbandhan ran a vigorous campaign during the Kurhani byelection. In this election, they used Lalu Prasad Yadav's name and played the sympathy card, but their candidate still came in last. Nitish Kumar, the chief minister, held Kurhani in high regard. He made repeated trips there to campaign, but the JD(U) candidate was unsuccessful." "There is no moral justification for Nitish Kumar to continue serving as chief minister. Following JD(U) won only two seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Nitish Kumar resigned from his position; he ought to do the same after the Kurhani by-election" Sushil Kumar Modi said.

Following their victory in Kurhani, BJP leaders and supporters lit fireworks and chanted "Jai Shri Ram" at the party headquarters in Patna.

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