Congress and RJD Field Rival Candidates in Bihar Council Polls Set for 23 October
Eight Bihar Legislative Council seats go to the polls on 23 October, with allies Congress and the RJD announcing separate candidates on several graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies.
Polling for eight seats in the Bihar Legislative Council, four from graduates’ constituencies and four from teachers’ constituencies, is scheduled for 23 October, with counting on 27 October, according to Free Press Journal and Deccan Chronicle. The terms of the outgoing members expire on 16 November. The last date for filing nominations was 6 October.
The contest has drawn attention because the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), allies in the opposition INDIA bloc, announced candidates separately. Deccan Chronicle reported that Congress named five nominees and the RJD six, which the newspaper described as fresh tension within the Mahagathbandhan. Free Press Journal listed direct Congress–RJD contests in Patna Graduates (Asadullah Khan of Congress against the RJD’s Dilip Kumar), Kosi Graduates (Manoj Kumar Jaiswal against Nitesh Kumar), Darbhanga Graduates (Rajnikant Pathak against Anil Kumar Jha) and Patna Teachers (Sanjay Yadav against Sanjeev Kumar Singh).
In Darbhanga Teachers’ constituency, Congress has renominated sitting member Madan Mohan Jha, a former state Congress president. Free Press Journal said the RJD had not fielded a candidate there, and that Jha faces the JD(U)’s Ghanshyam Rai, with the Jan Suraaj Party’s S.P. Rai also in the race. Deccan Chronicle listed the RJD’s other nominees as Jayram Yadav for Saran Teachers and Rashmi Vinayak Gautam for Tirhut Graduates.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav denied any rift on 3 October, according to a PTI report published by ThePrint. He said the Left parties, Congress and the RJD “have always contested elections separately” in graduates’, teachers’ and local-body polls, and expressed confidence that the RJD would do well. Bihar Congress president Rajesh Ram had said a day earlier that the candidate decisions reflected workers’ sentiment and the view that Congress is emerging as the main challenger to the BJP, ThePrint reported. These are statements by party leaders and have not been independently verified.
The ruling side has its own dispute, Free Press Journal reported. The JD(U) assigned Union Minister Lalan Singh to resolve a disagreement between party MLA Anant Singh and the party’s Patna Graduates candidate Neeraj Kumar. Anant Singh said he would work to defeat Kumar and has backed Jan Suraaj candidate Anuj Kumar Singh, the report said.
Council graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies have specialised electorates. According to Deccan Chronicle, graduates’ voters must ordinarily live in the constituency and have held a degree for at least three years before the qualifying date, while teachers’ voters must have taught for at least three years in the six preceding years at notified secondary-level or higher institutions. The candidate lists above reflect announcements made in early October, and the final field depends on nominations and withdrawals recorded by the Election Commission.
