Crucial By-election Underway for Bihar's Rupauli Assembly Seat

Voting for the Rupauli assembly seat by-election in Bihar started amid tight security on Wednesday. Over three lakh voters will determine the fate of 11 candidates, including key figures like Bima Bharti and Kaladhar Prasad Mandal. The bypoll was triggered by Bharti's resignation to contest the Lok Sabha elections.

Polling began for the by-election to the Rupauli assembly seat in Bihar on Wednesday, amid tight security arrangements, an official said.

The voting started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.

More than three lakh voters will decide the electoral fate of 11 candidates. The bypoll was necessitated by the resignation of sitting MLA Bima Bharti, who won the seat for JD(U) several times but quit the party to contest Lok Sabha elections on an RJD ticket.

She lost her deposit in the parliamentary poll and is again in the fray for the bypoll as an RJD candidate. The JD(U) has fielded Kaladhar Prasad Mandal, who had contested the 2020 assembly polls from Rupauli as an Independent. Former MLA Shankar Singh, who had quit the LJP (Ram Vilas) headed by Union minister Chirag Paswan, is also in the fray as an Independent.