Patna, Feb 28: Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) Thursday retained the Kalyanpur assembly seat, with its candidate Manju Kumari defeating Lok Janshakti Party's (LJP) Rekha Paswan by over 17,000 votes, an election official said.
The JD-U's victory is a seen as a setback to LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan and his ally Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, who had repeatedly claimed that people would reject Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD-U in Kalyanpur by-poll.
The LJP was fully supported by the RJD in the by-poll.
The death of sitting JD-U legislator Ramsevak Hazari necessitated the by-poll in the assembly constituency of Samastipur, home of late socialist leader Karpoori Thakur.
Over half a dozen candidates were in the fray for the by-election held Feb 24.
