Lohardaga bypoll: Winner Congress claims people in Jharkhand have lost faith in NDA

Jamshedpur: The Secretary of Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) SRA Rizvi Chabban on Thursday expressed confidence that the victory of JPCC President Sukhdeo Bhagat in the Lohardaga (ST) Assembly by-election will help the party to improve its position in the state.

In a statement issued in Jamshedpur, Chabban said the victory of Bhagat would help the party to improve its status in the state and also provide a right direction to the party.

Representational image. AFP

"The bypoll verdict has clearly indicated that the people of the state have lost faith in the one-year-old Raghubar Das-headed NDA government and want a change in the state," he said.

Taking a dig at the former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi-led Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), Chabban said the Lohardaga result was a lesson for the JVM(P), which was direction less in the state, and it should rethink about its future policies for its survival.

Bhagat defeated the NDA ally Ajsu party candidate Niru Shanti Bhagat by over 23,000 votes.

Former Jharkhand Minister Bandhu Tirkey, who had contested the bypoll on a JVM(P) ticket, finished third.

The bypoll, held on 14 December, was necessitated after the seat fell vacant following the disqualification of Ajsu party member Kamal Kishore Bhagat from the Assembly.

Bhagat was convicted and sent to jail for five years in connection with a 1993 criminal case. Niru Shanti is his wife.

PTI