Bihar poll results: NDA secures strong mandate in West Champaran with key wins across all major seats

BETTIAH: The NDA has performed exceedingly well in West Champaran. Former deputy CM Renu Devi has been elected for the sixth time from Bettiah while former minister Vinay Bihari has won from Lauriya and former minister Narayan Prasad has secured his third win from Nautan. BJP's Nandkishore Ram won from Ramnagar and BJP's Sanjay Pandey clinched Narkatiaganj. The Sikta assembly constituency, previously held by CPI(ML), was won by young JD(U) candidate Samridh Verma.Fourteen tables were set up for counting at the Bazar Samiti in Bettiah for the assembly elections held on Friday. Lauriya recorded the lowest number of counting rounds at 23, while Valmikinagar recorded the highest at 31. In Bettiah, BJP's Renu Devi defeated Congress candidate Vashi Ahmed by 22,373 votes. In Lauriya, BJP's Vinay Bihari defeated VIP candidate Ran Kaushal Pratap Singh, known as one of Bihar's richest candidates, by 26,966 votes. In Nautan, Narayan Prasad beat Congress's Amit Kumar by 22,072 votes. In Narkatiaganj, Sanjay Pandey defeated RJD's Deepak Yadav by 26,458 votes. It was a friendly contest between Congress candidate Shashwat Kedar and RJD's Deepak Yadav, resulting in a setback for the Grand Alliance.In Ramnagar, BJP's Nandkishore Ram defeated former MLA Subodh Kumar by 35,680 votes. In Bagaha, sitting MLA Ram Singh defeated Congress candidate Jayesh Mangalam Singh by 6,313 votes. In Sikta, JD(U)'s Samridh Verma, son of former MLA Dilip Verma, registered a landslide victory. CPI(ML)'s Virendra Gupta, the sitting MLA, finished third, while Samridh Verma defeated independent candidate Khurshid Alam by 38,431 votes.Chanpatia and Valmikinagar saw close contests. In Valmikinagar, JD(U) sitting MLA Dhirendra Pratap Singh was narrowly defeated by Congress candidate Surendra Kushwaha. In Chanpatia, Congress candidate Abhishek Ranjan defeated BJP sitting MLA Umakant Singh by 602 votes.A businessman and political observer of Bettiah, Ramnaresh Prasad, said BJP's re-nomination of several incumbents had initially created "an atmosphere of inter-incumbency", but rallies by senior BJP leaders changed the election mood. He added, "The Rs 10,000 deposited in women's accounts was also a significant factor in voting for the NDA." According to him, voters distrusted Tejashwi Prasad Yadav's promises and "believed more in the promises made by CM Nitish Kumar than Tejashwi."