The office of the state’s Chief Electoral Officer said 98 candidates have entered the race across four graduates’ constituencies, while another 66 have filed papers for four teachers’ seats. Tuesday was the final day for submitting nominations.
The seats going to the polls are Patna, Darbhanga, Tirhut and Kosi Graduates’ constituencies, along with Patna, Darbhanga, Tirhut and Saran Teachers’ constituencies.
Darbhanga Graduates’ constituency has attracted the largest field among the four graduates’ seats, with 40 candidates. Patna has 22 nominees, while Tirhut and Kosi have 20 and 16, respectively.
Among teachers’ constituencies, Patna has recorded 22 candidates. Saran follows with 19, while Darbhanga and Tirhut have 14 and 11 candidates, respectively.
The next stage of the election process will begin with scrutiny of nomination papers on October 7. Candidates have until October 9 to withdraw from the contest.Voting is scheduled between 8 am and 4 pm on October 23. The counting of votes will take place on October 27.
The election has significance for the eight sitting MLCs whose terms end on November 16. They are Neeraj Kumar from Patna Graduates, Sarvesh Kumar from Darbhanga Graduates, Bansi Dhar Brajwasi from Tirhut Graduates, N K Yadav from Kosi Graduates, Naval Kishore Yadav from Patna Teachers, Madan Mohan Jha from Darbhanga Teachers, Sanjay Kumar Singh from Tirhut Teachers and Afaque Ahmad from Saran Teachers.
The BJP has nominated four candidates and the JD(U) has candidates in the other four constituencies.
Among the BJP nominees are three sitting MLCs seeking another term — Nawal Kishor Yadav from Patna Teachers, Dr N K Yadav from Kosi Graduates and Sarvesh Kumar from Tirhut Graduates.
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The BJP has also nominated Narendra Kumar Singh in Tirhut Teachers’ constituency. The seat is currently represented by CPI’s Sanjay Kumar Singh, whose party is part of the opposition INDIA bloc.
The Jan Suraaj Party, led by Prashant Kishor, is contesting every one of the eight constituencies.
Its candidates include Anuj Singh from Patna Graduates, Vimohan Kumar from Tirhut Graduates, Shyam Nandan Yadav from Tirhut Teachers and Afaq Ahmed from Saran Teachers. Divya Jyoti, a lawyer and academician-turned-politician, is contesting from Patna Teachers. The party has fielded S P Rai from Darbhanga Teachers, Mohammad Imtiyaz from Darbhanga Graduates and Rajnish Ranjan from Kosi Graduates.
The electorate for graduates’ constituencies is made up of eligible graduates residing in the respective constituencies. They must have obtained a degree from a recognised university in India and separately enrolled themselves on the relevant electoral roll.
Teachers’ constituencies have a different eligibility criterion. Voters must be teachers with at least three years of teaching experience in eligible educational institutions in the state, with the institutions required to be at least at the secondary-school level. Such voters also have to register on the specific teachers’ electoral list.
With nominations now closed, the focus shifts to scrutiny, withdrawals and the final line-up before Bihar’s eight Legislative Council seats go to the polls.
