RJD candidate Shahnawaz Alam wins by 41,224 votes from the Jokihat seat. The JD(U) had not lost the Jokihat seat since 2005 and had won the seat four times. But with this victory, RJD has ended JD(U)'s winning streak.
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Jokihat By-Election Results 2018 Live News and Updates: RJD candidate Shahnawaz Alam Wins by 41,224 Votes
Jokihat Bypoll Results 2018: Stay tuned here for the latest updates and early trends of the crucial by-election contest in Bihar.
31 May, 12:39 (IST)
Shahnawaz Alam of RJD is leading the Jokihat assembly seat with 72,791 votes. The second candidate on the list JD(U)'s Mohammad Murshid Alam, is a distant second with 36,315 votes.
31 May, 10:55 (IST)
Shahnawaz Alam of RJD, who is the younger brother of former MLA from the seat, Sarfaraz Alam, is leading from the seat now. JD(U)'s Mohammad Murshid Alam was leading till the 4th round of counting but Shahnawaz has gone ahead of JD(U)'s candidate.
31 May, 08:52 (IST)
Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD leading from Jokihat seat in initial trends.
31 May, 08:29 (IST)
Counting of votes begin for Jokihat assembly seat bypoll. The early leads are expected to emerge shortly.
Jokihat, May 31: The Jokihat assembly seat in Araria district which went for a by-election on May 28 has seen a battle of supremacy for the seat between Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD. The constituency, whose 70% electorate is Muslim, is important for CM Nitish Kumar to prove that his standing in the majority is still intact despite joining hands with the BJP after breaking away from the Mahagathbandhan in 2016. On top of that there is the pressure to retain the seat which the JD(U) hasn't lost since 2005 and won it four times. Whereas for Nitish's rival Tejashwi Yadav is concerned, victory looks sure shot if election rally crowds and mood is anything to go by. The by-election results will be declared today. Stay tuned here for the live news and updates.
Jokihat Bypoll 2018 Factsheet:
Date of Voting and Results: The voting for the Jokihat assembly seat took place on Monday, May 28. The counting of the votes will happen on Thursday, May 31 and the winner will be declared today.
Last Results: The Jokihat seat was won by Sarfaraz Alam thrice. In the year 2000, he won it from RJD party. Then he joined the Janata Dal (United) and won the seat again in the 2010 and 2015 elections.
Reason for Bypoll: Sarfaraz Alam had won the seat in 2015 under JD(U) but resigned after Nitish Kumar broke away with the Mahagathbandhan. Sarfaraz Alam had joined the RJD again in February 2018 and vacated the Jokihat seat after his father, Mohammed Taslimuddin, who was the Member of Parliament from Arariya seat passed away. Sarfaraz Alam was given the ticket to fight the parliamentary byelections from Arariya which he won for RJD. Hence the seat fell vacant.
Candidates in Fray: Overall there are nine candidates fighting the election from the seat. But the main contest is between the JD(U), which has won the seat four times and the Rashtiya Janata Dal (RJD). The RJD has given the ticket to Mohammed Taslimuddin's younger son and Sarfaraz Alam's younger brother Shahnawaz Alam. The JD(U) has given the ticket to Murshid Alam, who has several criminal cases against him. The contest is believed to be between the two.
The Jokihat assembly bypoll elections have assumed greater importance for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. For the RJD, it's the question of retaining the legacy of Mohammed Taslimuddin who had huge influence on the region. Recently, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of the opposition, had attracted more crowd at his rally than CM Nitish Kumar. Whether this success at rallies will get translated in electoral gains for Tejashwi's RJD in the Jokihat By-Election Results 2018 will be proved today after the results are out.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 31, 2018 08:13 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).