2 min readPatnaMay 14, 2026 07:56 PM IST
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. Seth and his son had been in the news recently following raids by the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department, and subsequent investigations against them.
The Legislative Council bypoll in the Ara–Buxar seat saw six candidates in the fray — four independent candidates apart from Rai and Seth. The total electorate in the seat is 6,086 voters. Sonu Rai won by a margin of 407 votes.
Sonu Rai also serves as the president of the Ara Ramlila Committee. He is the son-in-law of former Sandesh seat MLA Vijender Yadav.
Bihar has long seen a close competition between the two families. In the last Assembly elections, Radha Charan Shah defeated RJD’s Deepu Yadav by only 27 votes, and was elected the MLA from the Sandesh seat. Deepu Yadav’s family, including his parents Arun Yadav and Kiran Devi, have previously held the MLA office in the district.
