Patna, Nov 1 (PTI) Campaign ended on Tuesday for by-polls to Gopalganj and Mokama assembly seats of Bihar -- the first electoral test for the Nitish Kumar-led 'Mahagathbandhan' government, formed less than three months ago.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who remained conspicuous by his absence during campaigns owing to "injuries suffered in a recent mishap", issued a video message urging people of Mokama to vote for RJD candidate Neelam Devi, whose husband Anant Singh's disqualification necessitated the by-poll to the seat.

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Deputy CM and RJD heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, however, led from the front as he addressed rallies in Mokama as well as in Gopalganj, situated in his eponymous native district and which he seeks to wrest from the BJP that bagged it for four consecutive terms.

The BJP has fielded Kusum Devi, wife of four-term MLA Subhash Singh, whose death necessitated the by-poll in Gopalganj.

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Yadav, whose campaign for RJD's Gopanlganj candidate Mohan Gupta was peppered with caustic attacks on the BJP, also took potshots at the saffron party's 'B team', an allusion to his own aunt Indira Yadav who is in the fray on a BSP ticket, and Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM, which has for long been accused of being a "spoiler" that cuts into "secular" votes.

The JD(U) sought to make up for the absence of Kumar, its de facto leader, with active canvassing by top office-bearers like national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan and parliamentary board chairman Upendra Kushwaha.

The BJP campaign was steered by its leaders belonging to the state and it received a boost in the last couple of days when Chirag Paswan, an estranged ally, canvassed in support of its candidates.

Chirag's rebellious uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras, a Union minister, is already with the NDA, and the two leaders' backing, in spite of mutual differences, has made the BJP hopeful of garnering a sizeable chunk of Dalit votes.

A curious aspect of the BJP's campaign was the blitzkrieg launched in Mokama by Suraj Bhan Singh, a former MP and ex-local MLA who is with the Lok Janshakti Party's splinter group headed by Paras.

The BJP has nominated from the seat greenhorn Sonam Devi, wife of a local muscleman Lalan Singh, who has been opposed to Anant Singh, currently lodged in jail after conviction in Arms Act case.

Suraj Bhan Singh, a dreaded gangster-turned-politician, had made his electoral debut in 2000 assembly elections when he wrested Mokama by an astounding margin, contesting as an Independent and defeating Anant Singh's elder brother Dilip Singh, who was a minister in the Rabri Devi government.

His rivalry with the brother duo has been the stuff of legend in Mokama.

Amid the hectic electioneering, the BJP had approached the Election Commission with petitions seeking disqualification of RJD candidate Mohan Gupta for "concealing" information in his affidavit about a case pending against him in Jharkhand.

Besides, the party had sought shifting Anant Singh to a jail far away from Patna, accusing him of trying to intimidate voters from behind bars. Interestingly, though, the party also sought to fish in troubled waters as its leaders, during campaigns, repeatedly blamed Nitish Kumar for Anant Singh's legal woes and questioned the stability of his new partnership with the RJD-led “Mahagathbandhan”.

Voting for both seats will take place on November 3 and the results will be declared on November 7.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)