Paswan loses as NDA takes rapid strides in Bihar

Bihar's ruling NDA took rapid strides mopping up 12 of the 13 seats, results of which were declared so far, and was ahead in 21 others as the Fourth Front suffered major reverses.     

Of the 13 seats results of which were declared so far, JD(U) won eight and BJP four, while one seat went to RJD.     

LJP President Ramvilas Paswan suffered a shock defeat in Hajipur, the seat which had returned him triumphant seven times in 1977, 1980, 1989, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004. He had won from Rosera in 1991.     

Ramsunder Das, the octogenarian former chief minister, who was pulled out of political oblivion to be fielded against Paswan in the dalit leader's pocket borough, humbled his towering adversary by a margin of ove 37,000 votes.     

NDA convenor and JD(U) president Sharad Yadav won the Madhepura seat for a fourth time, defeating RJD's Ravindra Charan Yadav by over 1.68 Lakh votes.     

JD(U)'s Sushil Kumar Singh beat Shakeel Ahmed Khan of the RJD by over 62,000 votes in Aurangabad where Congress candidate and former Delhi police commissioner Nikhil Kumar finished a poor third. Kumar was the sitting MP from Aurangabad.     

The JD(U) also won Sitamarhi, Supaul, Khagaria, Jehanabad and Jamui.

Another major casualty was Union Minister of State for Human Resources Mohd Ali Ashraf Fatmi, three-time RJD MP from Darbhanga who was defeated by BJP's cricketer-turned- politician Kirti Azad by over 46,00o votes. Azad had last won from Darbhanga in 1999.   

The saffron party's actor-politician Shatruthan Sinha posted a remarkable victory, his first in a Lok Sabha election, from Patna Saheb where he beat Vijay Sahu of RJD by over 1.66 lakh votes. Tv star Shekhar Suman finished a poor third polling little over 61,000 votes.     

BJP's prominent Muslim face and former Union minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain retained Bhagalpur seat defeating RJD's Shakuni Chaudhary by over 55,000 votes. The BJP also retained the Purnia seat where its candidate Uday Singh trounced Shanti Priya, Congress-backed Independent and mother of expelled RJD MP from Madhepura Pappu Yadav.     

Union Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh of RJD, widely considered the man behind UPA government's flagship national rural employment guarantee scheme, retained Vaishali seat. He had earlier won the seat in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004.     

The JD(U) is leading in as many as 12 seats including Samastipur, Ujiarpur, Karakat, Munger, Valmikinagar, Ara, Gopalganj, Jhanjharpur, Muzaffarpur, Maharajganj, Nalanda and Pataliputra.

 RJD chief Lalu Prasad tasted a humiliating defeat in the Patliputra parliamentary constituency, but emerged victorious over his nearest BJP rival Rajiv Pratap Rudy in Saran.     

Union Minister of State for Water Resources Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav is also leading in Banka.     

At least five Union Ministers including Congress' Shakeel Ahmed (Madhubani), Kanti Singh (Karakat), Akhilesh Prasad Singh (East Champaran), Raghunath Jha (Almikinagar) and Taslimuddin (Kishanganj), all of RJD, are trailing.     

The BJP, apart from winning Purnia, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga and Patna Saheb, is leading in nine others including Madhubani, Gaya, Nawada, East Champaran, West Champaran, Sheohar, Buxar, Katihar and Araria.