This was the third time Nitish Kumar misplaced from the Kudhani meeting seat

Patna:

Bihar’s by-election for the Kurhani meeting seat has not gone in favour of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his seven-party Grand Alliance. The victor was the BJP’s Kedar Gupta, who has overwhelmed Janata Dal United’s Manoj Kushwaha by 3,662 votes. The check of power was the primary since Mr Kumar ended his alliance with the BJP and was seen as a referendum of kinds on the brand new Mahagathbandhan in Bihar. 

This was the third time Mr Kumar misplaced from the Kudhani meeting seat. Much of it was a matter of luck and timing.

In 2015, when Mr Kumar led the primary model of the Grand Alliance, Kedar Gupta received, however as a BJP candidate. In 2020, when Mr Kumar was a part of NDA and Kedar Gupta contested as an NDA candidate, he misplaced to Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Anil Sahni by 712 votes.

Bypolls within the Kurhani meeting phase turned crucial after RJD MLA Anil Kumar Sahani was disqualified after receiving a jail time period in a corruption case.

The victory will probably be a feather within the BJP’s cap, achieved with an honest margin towards a seven-party alliance, and it’s anticipated to empower the detractors of the Chief Minister.  

Most of the leaders of Mr Kumar’s Janata Dal United take into account the picture of their candidate, Manoj Kushwaha, as a motive for the defeat. Mr Kushwaha has apparently irked many via his interference, particularly on the native degree.  

But the actual motive, one which even Mr Kumar’s staunch supporters concede off the report, is the liquor ban imposed by the Chief Minister. Under the regulation, imposed in April 2016, not solely branded alcohol, but additionally toddy has been banned.

This, leaders say, is politically suicidal, because it has adversely affected the employment of lakhs of individuals from the Dalit group in the whole state. The police motion in instances of violations of toddy ban, there was a number of resentment among the many native individuals.

The alliance, thus, suffered within the Kurhani constituency, which has about 18 share of Dalits. Leaders of the JD(U) are actually hoping that the results of this election will pressure a rethink on the liquor regulation within the state.

Mr Kumar, although has staunchly backed the prohibition, which had introduced him robust help from the ladies of the state. In October 2016, when the Patna High Court put aside the liquor ban, the Nitish Kumar authorities introduced within the controversial Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 – a brand new regulation which critics referred to as draconian due to its strict penalties.