Patna: Campaigning for the byelection to the Rupauli assembly seat ended on Monday, with the NDA and Grand Alliance making final efforts to secure victory. The byelection is set for Wednesday.
The contest has turned into a triangular one involving former minister Bima Bharti of the RJD, Kaladhar Mandal from JD(U), and former MLA Shankar Singh, now an Independent candidate.Singh had previously been with the Chirag Paswan faction of the Lok Janshakti Party.
Electioneering peaked on Saturday with CM Nitish Kumar and deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary, along with NDA ministers Leshi Singh and Dilip Kumar Jaiswal, addressing a rally. The RJD also mobilized its netas, including Aurangabad MP Abhay Kumar Kushwaha, and received support from Independent Purnia MP Rajesh Ranjan, also known as Pappu Yadav, who backs Bharti.
Pappu Yadav, in a video statement on Monday, appealed to Rupauli voters to support Bharti, urging them to forgive any past mistakes and promising to personally address their developmental needs.
The by-election was triggered by Bharti’s switch from JD(U) to RJD to contest the Lok Sabha election from Purnia, where she lost. The outcome of the Rupauli bypoll is seen as a key indicator for upcoming byelections in four other constituencies – Ramgarh, Tarari, Belaganj and Imamganj.
Bharti, a five-time MLA and two-time minister, lost the Lok Sabha election to Pappu Yadav, finishing third in the final vote count. However, after filing her nomination papers for the assembly seat, she reached out to Pappu Yadav for support, which he promised a week ago.

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