Bihar Election Result: Ritu Jaiswal's rebellious stance in the Parihar seat made the election exciting. BJP's Gayatri Devi won, while Ritu finished second. RJD's refusal to give her a ticket proved to be a major mistake.

If any seat garnered the most attention in the Bihar Assembly elections this time, it was the Parihar Assembly constituency. For the past few years, one name has been consistently resonating in the region's politics: Ritu Jaiswal, affectionately known as "Mukhiya Didi" in the area. This time, after being denied a ticket from the RJD, she changed the landscape by contesting as an independent.

RJD's big bet backfired

Ritu Jaiswal was the RJD candidate in 2020 and lost the election by a narrow margin of just 1,569 votes. Her supporters believed the RJD would reap the benefits of her hard work by giving her a ticket this time. However, when she was denied the ticket, Ritu Jaiswal rebelled against the party and decided to contest as an independent. This sparked a new wave of heat in Parihar politics, and the RJD's entire social equation deteriorated.

Three-way contest, but BJP has the lead.

This time, the Parihar seat saw a three-way contest. The final results were as follows:

Won - Gayatri Devi (BJP)
Votes: 82644
Majority: +17189

Second place: Ritu Jaiswal (Independent)
Votes: 65455

Smita Gupta (RJD) came third
with 48,534 votes.

It's clear that Ritu Jaiswal, despite being an independent candidate, garnered over 65,000 votes, making the entire election interesting. Had she contested on behalf of the RJD, the equation might have been completely different.

Ritu Jaiswal's grip remains strong.

Ritu Jaiswal's popularity can be gauged from the fact that, without the party organization, on the basis of her image and working style alone, she gave a tough fight to the BJP and attracted most of the RJD votes.

During the election campaign, she openly expressed her displeasure with Tejashwi Yadav and the RJD organization. She alleged that ticket distribution focused on political glamour, not hard work.

RJD suffers the biggest loss

The election results clearly show that by denying Ritu Jaiswal a ticket, the RJD undermined its own prospects. RJD candidate Smita Gupta finished third, garnering only 48,000 votes. Ritu Jaiswal, on the other hand, single-handedly pulled away a significant portion of the RJD's traditional vote bank.

Gayatri Devi's second consecutive victory

BJP candidate Gayatri Devi won for the second consecutive time. She had defeated Ritu Jaiswal in 2020, and this time her fight was even more challenging. However, the BJP's organization and vote transfer made her path easier.