Patna: A total of 164 candidates filed nominations by Tuesday, the last day for submitting papers for the biennial elections to eight graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies of Bihar legislative council, state election officials said.Of the total, 98 candidates filed nominations for the four graduates’ constituencies of Patna, Tirhut, Darbhanga and Kosi while 66 candidates entered the fray for the four teachers’ constituencies of Patna, Saran, Tirhut and Darbhanga. The contests are expected to be fought mainly among the ruling NDA, the opposition Mahagathbandhan and Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj, which is contesting all eight seats.Among the graduates’ constituencies, Darbhanga recorded the highest number of nominations with 40 candidates, followed by Patna with 22, Tirhut with 20 and Kosi with 16. In the teachers’ constituencies, Patna saw the maximum nominations at 22, followed by Saran with 19, Darbhanga with 14 and Tirhut with 11.Scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on Oct 7, while Oct 9 is the last date for withdrawal of candidature. Polling is scheduled from 8 am to 4 pm on Oct 23, and counting of votes will take place on Oct 27.The terms of eight sitting MLCs—Neeraj Kumar from Patna graduates’ seat, Sarvesh Kumar from Darbhanga graduates, Bansidhar Brajwasi from Tirhut graduates and N K Yadav from Kosi graduates; Nawal Kishore Yadav from Patna teachers’ constituency, Madan Mohan Jha from Darbhanga teachers, Sanjay Kumar Singh from Tirhut teachers and Afaque Ahmad from Saran teachers—will end on Nov 16.BJP has fielded candidates in four constituencies, including three sitting MLCs seeking re-election. Its candidates are Nawal Kishor Yadav from Patna teachers, Dr N K Yadav from Kosi graduates and Sarvesh Kumar from Darbhanga graduates. The party has also nominated Narendra Kumar Singh from Tirhut teachers, a seat currently held by Sanjay Kumar Singh of CPI, a Mahagathbandhan constituent. JD(U) has nominated candidates for the remaining four seats.Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor on Tuesday claimed NDA was in “turmoil” ahead of the council polls and said voters were viewing his party as a viable alternative. Kishor made the remarks while accompanying Jan Suraaj candidate Divya Jyoti for filing nomination from Patna teachers’ seat. He also targeted JD(U)’s Neeraj Kumar, seeking a fourth consecutive term from Patna graduates, and BJP’s Nawal Kishor Yadav, saying both faced anti-incumbency. He claimed Jan Suraaj candidates Anuj Singh and Divya Jyoti would win from Patna graduates’ and Patna teachers’ seats, respectively.With Jyoti’s nomination, Jan Suraaj has fielded candidates in all four teachers’ and four graduates’ constituencies. The party’s nominees are Divya Jyoti from Patna teachers, S P Rai from Darbhanga teachers, Afaque Ahmad from Saran teachers and Shyam Nandan Yadav from Tirhut teachers. In the graduates’ constituencies, it has fielded Anuj Singh from Patna, Mohd Imteyaz (Noorani) from Darbhanga, Dr Vimohan Kumar from Tirhut and Rajnish Ranjan from Kosi.
