Congress, a part of the ruling grand secular alliance in Bihar today lost Harlakhi Assembly bypoll to BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) while CPI-M won the Birganj Assembly by-election in Tripura defeating BJP.
The secular alliance suffered the jolt just about three months after its stupendous victory in the state assembly election.
Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha-led RLSP candidate Sudhansu Sekhar riding on a sympathy wave defeated his Congress rival Mohammad Shabir by a margin of 18,650 votes.
Sudhansu Sekhar's father Basant Kushwaha had died a day before oath taking in November last year.
Returning Officer Bishnudeo Mandal said while RLSP nominee polled 62,434 votes, the Congress candidate bagged 43,784 votes and CPI nominee Ram Naresh Pandey secured 19,835 votes.
The victory margin of the RLSP candidate is almost five times more than that of his father, who had defeated the same Congress candidate in October-November poll by about 3,600 votes.
In Tripura, ruling CPIM candidate Parimal Debnath trounced his nearest BJP candidate by 10,597 votes in Birganj seat in Gomati district.
Debnath secured 20,355 votes while BJP nominee Ranjit Das polled 9,758 votes.
Congress candidate Chanchal De bagged only 1,231 votes and his deposit was forfeited, Returning Officer Debapriya Bardhan told reporters.
The by-poll was held on February 13. The seat had fallen vacant following the resignation of Manoranjan Acharjee from the assembly on December 10 last after he was expelled from CPI(M) on charges of moral turpitude.
