Laukaha (Bihar): As many as 13 candidates are in fray for Wednesday's by-poll to Laukaha Assembly seat, considered prestigious for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, in Bihar's Madhubani district.
Once a pocket borough of Congress and CPI, the seat was won by Hari Prasad Sah, a former Bihar minister, on a Samata party ticket in 2000 before he switched over to the ruling JD(U).
He went on to win the next two elections on a JD(U) ticket as well.
The by-poll became necessary after Sah died of brain haemorrhage in New Delhi last September.
Kumar armed with his development agenda and a firm resolve to uproot corruption at all levels will try to mobilise votes for his party nominee and son of Sah, Satish Kumar.
The JD(U) is also expecting the sympathy factor to work in its candidate's favour.
"I will gain heavily from the achievements of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his relentless fight against corruption," the JD(U) nominee says.
Seven independents have also thrown their hat into the poll ring.
Sah had defeated his nearest RJD rival from the seat Chitranjan Prasad Yadav by a margin of 17,566 votes in the 2010 Assembly poll.
While Sah had polled 47,849 votes, Yadav bagged 30,283 votes to clear ahead of his 13 competitors.
The RJD has fielded Mukhtar Ahmed, who recently resigned from the Congress and switched over to Lalu Prasad's party, while Congress has put up a grassroot party worker Ramsunder Tarait for the seat.
In all 2,62,375 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-election as the chief minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad are scheduled to address a series of election meetings in the next few days.
Both RJD and Congress are depending heavily on Muslim votes as RJD is banking on the votes of the Yadav community.
Congress on the other hand is eyeing traditional votes.
The CPI, Samajwadi Janata Dal (Democratic) of former Union Minister Devendra Prasad Yadav have set up their candidates too for the bypoll.
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