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          Patna, Feb 28  (IANS) 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.
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