The Legislative Council bypoll in the Ara–Buxar seat saw six candidates in the fray — four independent candidates apart from Sonu Rai (in photo) and Kanhaiya Seth. (Photo: Facebook/Sonu Rai)

RJD candidate Sonu Rai defeated JD(U) candidate Kanhaiya Seth in Ara–Buxar MLC by-election. The seat had fallen vacant after Radha Charan Seth was elected MLA in the 2025 Assembly polls.

It was touted as a battle of prestige for the NDA in wake of its thumping victory in the last elections when it won 202 out of 243 Assembly seats.

It was also a head-on collision between two political scions — Sonu Rai, the son of former RJD MLC Lal Babu Rai, and Kanhaiya Seth, the son of JD(U) MLA Radha Charan Seth. Radha Charan Seth had held this twice previously.…