Patna, Dec 8 (PTI) The JD(U), the second largest constituent of the ruling ‘Mahagathbandhan ‘ in Bihar, was maintaining a lead over the opposition BJP after the 16th round of counting in the by-poll to Kurhani assembly constituency in Muzaffarpur district.JD(U)"s Manoj Singh Kushwaha was ahead of BJP candidate Kedar Prasad Gupta by 1,143 votes. Kushwaha of the JD-U secured 54,675 votes, while Gupta got 53,532 votes after the 16th round of counting.The JD(U) had a lead of 1,802 votes over his BJP rival after the ninth round of counting.Gupta was leading till the eighth round of counting.Altogether 13 candidates, five of them Independents, are in the fray though the contest is being seen, primarily, as between Gupta and Kushwaha. Both are former MLAs.The by-poll was necessitated by the disqualification of sitting RJD MLA Anil Kumar Sahani.Gupta had lost to Sahani by less than 700 votes in the 2020 assembly polls which BJP and JD(U) had fought in an alliance. Now, the JD(U) is a part of "Mahagathbandhan" comprising RJD, Congress and the Left parties.Nearly 58 per cent of 3.11 lakh voters exercised their franchise on Monday in the by-poll to Kurhani where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar"s JD(U) and the BJP locked horns for the first time since their break-up four months ago. PTI PKD MM MM