'Lalu Ka Thopda Saaf Kar Diya Hain': Union Minister Giriraj Singh Mocks Ex-CM As NDA Sweeps Bihar Bypolls

Union Minister Giriraj Singh commented on the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) performance in the upcoming elections for Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. He stated on Saturday that the people of Uttar Pradesh had decisively rejected Lalu Prasad.

Speaking to ANI, he said "We accept the results in Jharkhand. However, in Bihar and UP, the public has given a wipe-off to Lalu Prasad. Lalu ka thopda saaf kar diya hain... The opposition will say that EVMs are wrong when they are losing. We will wait for the final results to come... Congress Telangana mein jeet gayi toh balle balle, agar Maharashtra mein haar gayi toh EVM par sawaal.."

Further speaking on the results in Maharashtra, he said "The two-third majority NDA got in Maharashtra clearly shows that people have rejected Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar. Today, the BJP's strike rate is around 87 per cent. BJP has got more than 60 per cent seats in Maharashtra."

In a major development ahead of next year’s assembly elections, the ruling NDA in Bihar achieved a decisive victory in the bypolls for four assembly constituencies on Saturday.

The coalition successfully retained Imamganj and also captured Tarari, Ramgarh, and Belaganj from the opposition INDIA alliance, which is spearheaded by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

However, the results were disappointing for Jan Suraaj, the newly formed party led by former strategist Prashant Kishor, as its candidates struggled to make an impact, with most failing to secure their deposits. This highlighted the party’s difficulty in gaining a foothold in the state’s political landscape.

The most significant blow for the RJD came in Belaganj, a constituency it had dominated since the 1990s. In a historic upset, Manorama Devi of Janata Dal (United), part of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party, defeated RJD's Vishwanath Kumar Singh by over 21,000 votes.

The seat had previously been held by Singh's father, Surendra Prasad Yadav, who vacated it after winning a seat in the Lok Sabha. Earlier Ajit Pawar's son Jay Pawar thanked the voters for the faith reposed in the Yuti Alliance and said that the alliance would work to fulfil its promises.

In Uttar Pradesh, as of 2.20 pm, according to the Election Commission of India, BJP is leading on six seats - Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Khair, Phulpur, Katehari and Majhawan.Samajwadi party is leading on two seats of Sishamau and Karhal while Jayant Chuadhary's RLD is on the Meerapur seat.

The by-polls were held in 48 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats across 15 states, with notable contests in Uttar Pradesh and Wayanad, Kerala, where Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made her electoral debut.

With Inputs From ANI