Patna: Voting for the bypolls to Jokihat Assembly seat in Bihar will take place on May 28 and those will be counted on May 31, the Election Commission of India announced on Thursday.
Notification for the poll would be issued on May 3 and the last date for filing of nomination is May 10. Candidates can withdraw their nominations latest by May 14.
The bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of Sarfaraz Alam, son of late Taslimuddin, who won the Assembly seat on a JDU ticket in 2015 but was later suspended by the party. He quit Assembly membership ahead of bypolls for Araria Lok Sabha seat and won it on an RJD ticket.
The bypoll would be an acid test for the NDA in Bihar in general and the JDU in particular given that the party had won the seat in 2010 and 2015. Going by the past record, the NDA camp should offer the seat to the JDU. The RJD is all set to field its candidate there. It is the largest party in the Assembly with 80 MLAs, and one more seat would add to its strength.
Given that the RJD polled the most votes from this Assembly segment during the Araria Lok Sabha bypoll, the party is expecting a cakewalk this time too.
A BJP insider said the party would not stake claim to the seat, as it had been going to JDU's kitty in the past too. Also, the voters' composition made it more suitable for the BJP not to stake claim.
"Of 2.70 lakh voters in the Assembly segment, around 1.75 lakh voters are Muslims and it would be appropriate if the JDU fields a Muslim candidate," the BJP leader said.
Sarfaraz Alam had won on a JDU ticket in 2010 by a margin of around 25,000 votes and it increased to over 50,000 votes when he contested on a JDU ticket with the RJD in tow.
During the Lok Sabha bypolls that Sarfaraz won, his margin was over 81,000 in Araria segment. JDU leaders refused to speak on record but agreed that in all likelihood it would have to contest the seat despite chances not being bright.
"Our leader Nitish Kumar has been trying hard to instil a sense of confidence among the minorities by taking a tough stand on communal issues and even taking action against BJP workers, but it will be interesting to see whether or not the minorities vote for us," a JDU leader said.
BJP strategists feel the contest would turn interesting if the JDU gets someone from late Taslimuddin's family to contest. "We've heard Sarfaraz wants to field either his wife or son on an RJD ticket. If the JDU fields Mokim Alam or Shahnawaz Alam, Sarfaraz's brothers, the contest can turn interesting," a BJP leader said.
