Patna: The NDA’s performance in the Oct 23 legislative council elections is certainly a morale booster for CM Samrat Choudhary and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar’s heir apparent Nishant Kumar, but the results declared on Tuesday may sound an alarm bell to the Grand Alliance (GA) comprising RJD, Congress and Left. The results may also give space to Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) as people opposed to the BJP look for an alternative, as they did in Bankipur.Prashant, who recently defeated the BJP in its stronghold Bankipur assembly byelection, has been trying to emerge as an alternative to traditional political parties at a time when Gen Z is agitated over the lack of jobs and employment opportunities in the country in general and Bihar in particular.Though graduate and teacher council constituencies are small compared with the electorate in assembly polls, the fact that candidates and voters were either graduates or teachers and considered publicly aware people with discerning judgment made the results significant. While Prashant campaigned for his candidates, RJD national working president and party face Tejashwi Prasad Yadav was conspicuous by his absence during electioneering.The JSP, for the first time since its formation in 2024, contested council polls and fielded candidates on all eight seats at stake. It not only won the Darbhanga Teachers’ seat by defeating sitting Congress MLC Madan Mohan Jha, but also garnered either more or only a few votes fewer than the runners-up in the remaining constituencies.Though RJD had no MLC in any of the eight constituencies in the Oct 23 polls, it was the main opposition party in the last elections. RJD contested seven seats, leaving the Tirhut Teachers’ constituency for ally CPI, which could not retain the seat this time. Congress fielded candidates on five seats, while CPI(M) and CPI(ML) also contested one seat each.Of the eight seats, the NDA held three — Kosi Graduates and Patna Teachers (BJP), and Patna Graduates (JD(U)) — while independent candidates had won three: Tirhut Graduates, Darbhanga Graduates and Saran Teachers. CPI and Congress held Tirhut Teachers and Darbhanga Teachers respectively.A Prashant Kishor-backed candidate, Afaque Ahmad, had won the Saran Teachers’ seat in 2023, giving his campaign its first taste of electoral success. But Afaque lost to independent Rahul Raj, a BJP rebel, this time.
