47.50% Voter Turnout Recorded in Tirhut Graduate MLC By-Elections
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Patna, Dec 5 (NationPress) The voting for the Tirhut Graduate MLC by-election concluded without any issues on Thursday, with the Election Commission announcing a 47.50% voter turnout, which is a modest increase from the 45.20% turnout recorded during the 2020 elections.
The Tirhut Graduate MLC constituency covers four districts: Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Muzaffarpur, and Vaishali. The election process took place across 89 polling centres and 106 sub-polling centres.
A total of 154,828 graduate voters were eligible to participate, consisting of 107,401 male voters and 47,419 female voters. The counting of votes is scheduled for December 9, 2024, at the MIT Muzaffarpur campus.
The election included 18 candidates, indicating a competitive electoral landscape.
The seat became vacant after Devesh Chandra Thakur's election to the Lok Sabha from Sitamarhi, leading to the necessity of this by-election.
This by-election featured a triangular contest among candidates from JD(U), RJD, and Jan Suraaj.
Abhishek Jha, representing JD(U) and the Brahmin community, is confident, stating that there is “no challenge” from other candidates and believes he has a clear path to victory.
Jha is relying on JD(U)'s long-established dominance in the area, asserting a legacy advantage and solid connections with the electorate.
RJD has nominated Gopi Kishan, who represents the Vaishya community.
RJD spokesperson Chittranjan Gagan expressed confidence in a decisive victory for his candidate, citing support from youth and the popularity of Tejashwi Yadav’s governance over the past 17 months.
Gagan has also claimed that there was widespread removal of RJD-aligned graduate voters from the electoral rolls, accusing opponents of using financial influence to manipulate the elections.
“Our candidate is projected to secure over 50% of the votes across all four districts (Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Sitamarhi, and Sheohar), leading to a one-sided victory. The increasing popularity of Tejashwi Yadav's governance and development initiatives has enhanced his acceptability among young voters,” Gagan stated.
Jan Suraaj has put forward Vinayak Gautam, who comes from the Bhumihar community and has a politically influential background. His father, Ramkumar Singh, and grandfather, Raghunath Pandey, have held significant political roles, adding credibility to his candidacy.
