Patna: JDU president Nitish Kumar on Thursday appealed to people to vote for his candidate, Murshid Alam, based on the work he has executed for the minorities and for Bihar.

Nitish, who is also the chief minister, was in Jokihat to campaign in support of the JDU candidate for the bypoll to be held on May 28.

While addressing a crowd in the Muslim-dominated Assembly constituency at Udahat High School, Nitish said: "I have been doing a lot of work for you people (read Muslims) and our government is trying hard to do more. I will not leave any stone unturned to bring development here. Whenever I have got the opportunity, I have worked for the development of every section of people."

Nitish was sharing the dais with BJP senior leader Shahnawaz Hussain and other senior JDU leaders like energy minister Bijendra Yadav, minority, irrigation and disaster management minister Dinesh Chandra Yadav, panchayati raj minister Kapil Dev Kamat, rural works minister Shailesh Kumar, JDU national general secretary Sanjay Jha, Rajya Sabha member RCP Singh, former education department minister Ashok Choudhary and Dilip Choudhary.

JDU candidate Murshid Alam was also present.

The bypoll was necessitated after the resignation of Sarfaraz Alam, son of late Mohammad Taslimuddin, who won the seat on JDU ticket in 2015 Assembly elections but was later suspended from the party. He then quit his Assembly membership to contest and win the Lok Sabha bypoll from Araria. 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 Assembly elections. The RJD has fielded Sarfaraz's younger brother Shahnawaz Alam.

There is direct contest between Shahnawaz and Murshid, who has a controversial background with a murder and rape case being filed against him and mentioned in his affidavit as well. Murshid was once the village mukhiya (panchayat head).

A JDU insider said Nitish made a mistake by ignoring Manzar Alam, the JDU candidate who had earlier won the Assembly election in February and October 2005. In fact, Manzar had filed his nomination as an Independent but later withdrew his nomination on Nitish's request.

Of around 2.70 lakh voters in the Assembly segment, around 1.75 lakh voters are Muslims.

Without naming anyone, Nitish stressed that there are people in society who want to create social disturbance but he will not allow them to achieve it. "I do not care about votes and only focus on work. It is up to you to decide whether or not you all are happy with my work," Nitish said.

BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain, too, addressed the public and said whenever Nitish makes an alliance with anyone he does it on the basis of his own ideology and policy. He also said that Nitish thinks about all section of people.

The chief minister faced protests when a few Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) candidates protested during the rally in support of their demands.

RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav will campaign in support of his candidate at the same place on Friday.