Patna: The ruling JD(U) on Sunday said that
the Laukaha assembly bypoll victory was a manifestation of
public faith in the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government as the
opposition RJD attributed the debacle to division of secular
votes.
"The Laukaha assembly by-poll result is a vindication
of public faith in the NDA government and its agenda of
development with social justice," state unit JD(U) President
Vashistha Narayan Singh told reporters here.
Attributing another electoral defeat to the division
of secular votes, RJD's national General Secretary Ram Kripal
Yadav claimed that the candidates of the secular parties put
together polled 80,000 votes which was more than 64,425 votes
polled by the eventual winner and the JD(U) candidate Satish
Kumar Shah, who won by 22,763 votes.
"But for division of votes, the RJD candidate Mokhtar
Ahmed would have won the Laukahaa assembly seat," he rued.
The votes (41,662) polled by the RJD contestant in
securing second position did indicate that the principal
opposition party was a still a major factor in Bihar and
enjoyed support of the masses, Yadav said.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, December 04, 2011, 23:08