Independent Candidate Shankar Singh Wins Rupauli By-Election, Defeating Bima Bharti and Kaladhar Mandal

Chirag Gupta

Purnia: Independent candidate Shankar Singh has won the Rupauli assembly by-election, defeating JD (U)’s Kaladhar Mandal by 8,846 votes. Shankar Singh received 68,070 votes, while Kaladhar Mandal got 59,824 votes. RJD’s Bima Bharti, a 5-time MLA from Rupauli, remained in third place from the first round, securing 30,619 votes. She had also suffered a crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.

Voting was held on July 10 for the by-election on the Rupauli assembly seat vacated due to Bima Bharti’s resignation. A total of 54.25% voting took place. Earlier, it was believed that there would be a neck-and-neck fight between Bima Bharti and Kaladhar Mandal, but the entry of independent Shankar Singh made the contest triangular.

RJD accepted defeat even before the results were announced, with party leader Shakti Singh Yadav stating that they will review the loss. Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav’s support for Bima Bharti also did not yield results. The independent MP from Purnia had publicly backed Bima Bharti before the election, apologizing for any past mistakes and requesting voters to support her. However, his appeal did not help Bima Bharti secure a win.