Nitish Kumar's Grand Alliance has failed to win the by-election in Bihar . The Bihar Chief Minister's defeat marks a referendum on the Mahagathbandhan .
Patna: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his seven-party Grand Alliance have been unable to win the by-election in Bihar for the Kurhani assembly seat.Kedar Gupta of the BJP took the trophy, defeating Janata Dal United's Manoj Kushwaha by 3,662 votes.Mr Kumar lost from the Kudhani assembly seat for the third time since abandoning his BJP-led alliance, marking a sort of referendum on the forthcoming Mahagathbandhan in Bihar.Kedar Gupta won in 2015, when Mr Kumar led the first version of the Grand Alliance, but as a BJP candidate.
The majority of Mr Kumars Janata Dal United supporters cite the image of their candidate, Manoj Kushwaha, as a reason for the loss.Mr Kushwaha has apparently enraged many people, particularly at the local level.The true reason, which even Mr Kumar's vehement supporters dismisses as irrelevant, is the Chief Minister's liquor prohibition.Not only branded alcohol, but also toddy, has been banned under the new legislation, which was enacted in April 2016, according to some experts, since it has harmed the livelihood of lakhs of Dalit people in the entire state. The JD(U) leaders are now hoping that the results of this election would spark a rethink of the state's liquor policy.Mr Kumar has vehemently opposed the ban, which has garnered him a lot of attention from his constituents.The Nitish Kumar government introduced the controversial Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 in October, which was chastised by the Patna High Court, resulting in severe penalties.