Janta Dal United announces candidate for Bihar bypoll

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) on Friday announced its candidate for the Rupauli assembly constituency, where the resignation of multiple-term MLA Bima Bharti has necessitated a bypoll.

State JD(U) president Umesh Singh Kushwaha gave the party ticket to Kaladhar Prasad Mandal, who had contested the 2020 assembly polls, against Bharti, as an independent.

Bharti, who had won the seat for JD(U) for the third time in a row, quit the party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls to contest from Purnea as the RJD candidate.

However, the seat was won by independent candidate Pappu Yadav, while Bharti lost deposit and finished a distant third, way behind the JD(U) runners-up Santosh Kushwaha, who was defeated after two consecutive victories.

According to Kushwaha, the candidature of Mandal "has been approved by the chief minister", who is also the JD(U)'s national president.

The choice seems to have been driven by a high concentration, in Rupauli, of Gangotas, an extremely backward class to which Bharti also belonged.Bharti has indicated that she was unwilling to contest the by-poll, but if the RJD decided to field its candidate, she would lobby for the ticket for any of her family members.

The RJD has an alliance with the CPI, which had contested the seat in 2020. The Left party has announced that it will contest the by-poll.

The last date for filing of nomination is June 21 and voting will take place on July 10.