A 30-Vote Thriller In Ramgarh: How Mayawati's BSP Pulled Off Its Only Win In Bihar

In a closely contested election in Bihar, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led by Mayawati, managed to secure a single seat out of the 192 it contested, claiming victory in Ramgarh. The BSP candidate, Satish Kumar Singh Yadav, emerged triumphant by a mere 30 votes against his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rival, Ashok Kumar Singh. The nail-biting finish in Ramgarh, located in the Kaimur district, saw Satish Kumar Yadav secure 72,689 votes, while Ashok Kumar Singh garnered 72,659.

The Ramgarh seat has been considered a stronghold of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). In this election, the RJD candidate, Ajit Kumar, and Jan Suraaj Party's Anand Kumar Singh, trailed behind with 41,480 and 4,426 votes, respectively. Notably, 1,154 voters chose the NOTA (None of the Above) option.

This victory in Ramgarh is particularly significant for the BSP, as it provides a much-needed boost to the morale of party workers both within and outside Bihar. The BSP had contested 192 of the 243 seats in the Bihar Assembly. The party's Bihar in-charge, Anil Kumar, highlighted Satish and his uncle's past near-misses in previous elections. In the 2020 Assembly elections, Satish's uncle, Ambika Singh, also representing the BSP, narrowly lost to RJD's Sudhakar Singh by a margin of just 189 votes. Satish Kumar Yadav himself had contested the Ramgarh by-election last year, also on a BSP ticket, but was defeated by Ashok Kumar Singh by 1,362 votes.

The final result was declared late on Friday night after an unusually long final round of counting, marking a hard-fought win for the BSP candidate. While Satish Yadav led from the start of the counting day, the margin kept narrowing, with Yadav ahead by only 175 votes by the second-last round.

Despite the BSP's struggles to make a significant impact in Bihar, the party did see a slight increase in its vote share, registering 1.62% compared to 1.49% in 2020. Some attribute the "unexpected rise" in voter turnout to BSP's defeat from other seats. The party contested more seats in this election, which may have contributed to the increase. Mayawati addressed a rally in Bhabhua before the second phase of polling, while Akash Anand, the party's national convener, spent a longer period in the state, engaging in public meetings and foot marches. Anand focused on galvanizing the organizational machinery in Bihar and attracting youth to the BSP.

Historically, the Ramgarh assembly seat has seen 19 elections and by-elections since 1951. The RJD has won the seat the most times, with 6 victories, while the Congress party has won 4 times. The BJP has had less dominance in this constituency, winning only twice. In the 2020 Assembly elections, Ramgarh recorded a voter turnout of 64.18%. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the voting percentage increased. Scheduled Castes account for 23.23% of voters in the Ramgarh Assembly, while Muslims constitute 8.5%.

The NDA secured a majority in the Bihar Assembly elections with 202 seats. The BJP won 89 seats, while the Janata Dal United, led by Nitish Kumar, secured 85 seats. The Mahagathbandhan was limited to 35 seats.