File photo: Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar (left) and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Yadav (AP photo)
Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar's mega gamble seems to have paid off; along with the Congress they have won six of the 10 seats where by-elections were held in Bihar. The BJP has won four, a deficit of two seats from 2010 and a big slide when compared to its performance in these assembly segments just three months ago in the national elections.
Here are the latest developments:
Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav put aside their legendary rivalry to test the grounds with these by-elections ahead of state elections next year. A good haul of six seats today means a thumbs up from voters for their partnership, forged to take on the BJP.
The two leaders had indicated that they could extend the alliance if it works today.
Lalu Yadav is in a Mumbai hospital for a scheduled heart check-up and might undergo heart valve transplant surgery. His party the RJD contested four seats, Nitish Kumar's JD(U) four and junior partner in the state, Congress, contested two.
"I thank the people of Bihar for making the Grand alliance win. Voters across the country have rectified the mistakes made in Lok Sabha elections." Lalu Yadav tweeted from the hospital.
Nitish and Lalu based their mega-alliance on the calculation that they could corner the Muslim-Yadav-backward classes vote in Bihar. Their partnership was seen as incompatible by many as the two leaders have built their political careers on discrediting the other for over 20 years.
Of the 10 seats, the BJP had won six, the RJD had won three, the JD(U) one and the Congress none in 2010. But in this year's general elections, the BJP's alliance had swept eight of these assembly segments on its way to getting 31 of 40 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP hoped that what it calls the "Narendra Modi wave" would endure.
In Karnataka, the Bellary win will go a long way in boosting the morale of the ruling Congress in Karnataka, down in the dumps since it could win just nine of Karnataka's 28 seats in national elections this year. Bellary has for long been a BJP bastion and was vacated by BS Sriramulu, a controversial leader who returned to the BJP recently and is now a Lok Sabha MP.
Of the three seats in Karnataka, the Congress has also won Chikkodi, which it held. The BJP salvaged its pride by winning the prestige battle in Shikaripur, where former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa's son BY Raghavendra contested on a party ticket.
In Punjab, the Congress has retained Patiala; it fielded Preneet Kaur, the wife of Patiala royal and Congress MP Amarinder Singh, who is famous for defeating Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Lok Sabha elections. The Aam Aadmi Party candidate in Patiala lost his deposit. The Akali Dal won in Talwandi Sabo.
In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has won two of the three seats for which by-elections were held. The party swept both state and general elections in Madhya Pradesh in the last one year, under the leadership of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan.
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