Patna (Bihar) [India], November 2 (ANI): The Janata Dal (United) on Tuesday retained both Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan Assembly seats that went to by-elections on October 30.

Patna Oct 30 PTI Polling is underway for Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan assembly seats in Bihar where by-elections have been necessitated by the deaths of sitting MLAs both belonging to Chief Minister Nitish Kumars JDU Altogether 17 candidates are in the fray for the two seats eight in Tarapur and nine in Kusheshwar Asthan The JDUs bid to retain these seats is being challenged by the RJD headed by Kumars arch rival Lalu Prasad The JDU has placed its bet on fresh faces in both seats In Tarapur which has fallen vacant upon Mewa Lal Chaudharys demise the party has fielded Rajiv Kumar Singh while in the reserved Kusheshwar Asthan debutant Awadh Bhushan Hazari seeks to retain for his party the seat his father Shashi Bhushan Hazari had won three times in a row The RJD which boasts of a formidable support base in the form of the Muslim-Yaadav MY combination has made the battle harder for JDU with its deft play of the caste card in both seats In Tarapur which has so far sent only Yadavs or Koeris to the assembly the RJD has fielded Arun Sah a Vaishya seeking to win over a community that has traditionally been with the BJP and its allies The JDU has been sharing power with the BJP for more than a decade and a half It started off as a senior partner in the coalition but of late has ceded the upper hand to the saffron party which has emerged as a near hegemonic force in the Hindi heartland Similarly in Kusheshwar Asthan the RJD has fielded Ganesh Bharti who belongs to the Musahar community which aspires to get its due among the Dalits However in both seats the Congress and the Chirag Paswan-headed faction of Lok Janshakti Party could to play a decisive role if the contest between JDU and RJD turns out to be a close one The Congress which has for long remained content as a subservient junior partner of the RJD in Bihar decided to pull itself by its bootstraps after being humiliated by the domineering senior ally The RJDs announcement of candidates for both seats without taking into confidence the Congress which had contested Kusheshwar Asthan in assembly polls last year proved to be the proverbial last straw The party has fielded Atirek Kumar son of Ashok Ram who gave Shashi Bhushan Hazari a tough fight a year ago In Tarapur which the Congress had never intended to fight until the decision to call off the alliance it has fielded Rajiv Kumar Mishra a well-known social worker who is an upper caste Brahmin and had polled about 10000 votes when he fought in the assembly polls as an Independent Another upper caste candidate in Tarapur is Kumar Chandan a Rajput who is contesting on the ticket of LJP Ram Vilas which Chirag heads For Chirag the by-polls in both seats would be a test of his strength after the split in the party founded by his father of which a major chunk has rallied with his rebellious uncle and cousin Pashupati Kumar Paras and Prince Raj respectively While Tarapur falls within Chirags own Jamui Lok Sabha constituency Kusheshwar Asthan is a part of Samastipur which Prince Raj represents Chirags candidate in Kusheshwar Asthan Anju Devi is the only woman in the fray PTI NAC JRC JRC JRC