Patna, Dec 5 The voting for the Tirhut Graduate MLC by-election concluded peacefully on Thursday, with the Election Commission reporting a 47.50 per cent voter turnout which is a slight increase from the 45.20 per cent turnout in the 2020 election.
The Tirhut Graduate MLC constituency spans four districts of Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Muzaffarpur, and Vaishali. The voting was conducted across 89 polling centres and 106 sub-polling centres.
A total of 1 lakh 54 thousand, 828 graduate voters were eligible to vote, comprising 107,401 male and 47,419 female voters and the votes will be counted on December 9, 2024, at the MIT Muzaffarpur campus.
The election saw participation from 18 candidates, reflecting a competitive electoral environment.
The seat became vacant after Devesh Chandra Thakur was elected to the Lok Sabha from Sitamarhi, necessitating this by-election.
The by-election was a triangular contest featuring candidates from JD(U), RJD, and Jan Suraaj.
Abhishek Jha, the JD(U) candidate was in the fray of this by-poll representing the Brahmin community and his party that has held this seat for 22 years.
He expressed confidence that there is “no challenge” from other candidates, asserting a smooth path to victory.
Abhishek Jha is banking on the long-standing dominance of JD(U) in this constituency, asserting a legacy advantage and the ability to connect with voters.
RJD has fielded Gopi Kishan who represents the Vaishya community.
RJD spokesperson Chittranjan Gagan claimed a sweeping victory for his candidate, citing youth support and the popularity of Tejashwi Yadav’s governance over the past 17 months.
Gagan also alleged large-scale removal of RJD-aligned graduate voters from the electoral roll, accusing rivals of leveraging money power to sway the election.
“Our candidate secured over 50 per cent of votes across all four districts (Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Sitamarhi, and Sheohar), and he will register a one-sided victory. The growing popularity among young voters to Tejashwi Yadav's governance and development work has bolstered their acceptability,” Gagan said.
Jan Suraaj has given the ticket to Vinayak Gautam who represents the Bhumihar community and hails from a politically prominent family. His father, Ramkumar Singh, and grandfather, Raghunath Pandey, have previously held significant political positions, lending weight to his candidacy.
--IANS
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