Legislative Council polls: NDA gains in high-stakes showdown
Bihar MLC polls: NDA gains despite losing BJP bastion to RJD; below par JD-U retains lone seat, Jan Suraj wins 1
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Patna — The legislative council election are often low-key but this time they were a highstakes battle for 8 graduates' and teachers' seats in Bihar. Intra-party feuds and rebellions turned them into a watched out showdown and as the results trickled till late on Wednesday, the outcome meant different for each party.
The highlight of the election was a run-in between two JD(U) leaders -- Mokama MLA Anant Singh and party's three-time MLC Neeraj Kumar. Singh was adamant to see Neeraj lose and backed a rival party candidate and endured expulsion from the party for the same, but Neeraj prevailed in the end. His victory, however, is the sole success of JD(U) of the four seats it contested.
The party had fielded Abhishek Jha again from Tirhut graduate seat, but lost the second time in a row. From the two teachers' constituencies of Saran and Darbhanga, two of its candidates Anand Pushkar and Ghanshyam Rai lost.
JD(U)'s parmer in NDA, BJP, on the other hand, won three of the four seats it contested, but it lost its bastion Patna Teachers" seat, which Nawal Kishor Yadav has been representing since 1996 when he defeated late PN Sharma amid allegations of bogus voting. In a surprise, BJP rebel and independent candidate Rahul Raj won the Saran
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Voters stand in queue to cast their votes during the MLC election at Danapur block in Patna on October 23. SANTOSH KUMAR/HT Teachers seat where JD(U)'s Kishor made its presence felt by Anand Pushkar was the NDA _ opening its account in the Darnominee and last time's winner — bhanga teachers' constituency, Afaque Ahmad was contesting where Suresh Prasad Rai on Jan Suraaj ticket. proved to be a giant-killer
BJP's Dr Narendra Singh defeating former Bihar Conbagged the Tirhut teachers' seat gress president and two-term and was the first to be declared = MLC Madan Mohan Jha. winner, while Sarvesh Kumar For Jan Suraaj Party, it was and NK Yadav bagged the Kosi another big win after party and Darbhanga graduates' founder won the Bankipore seats. assembly bypoll necessitated by
Of the eight seats, independ_ the elevation of BJP national ents had won three seats in president Nitin Nabin to the 2020, BJP two, while one seat — Rajya Sabha. Now the party has each was with the JD(U),Conone seat each in both the gress and the CPI. This time, the — Houses of Bihar Legislature. overall tally for the NDA has A significant aspect of this improved with four seats and if __ legislative council election was the rebel also joins, it would be — that the incumbent MLCs on five, but Congress and CPI have _ four of the eight seats lost. Left's drawn a blank. RJD won the _ sitting MLC Sanjay Kumar prestigious Patna teachers' seat, Singh lost from Tirhut, while where former MLA Dr Sanjiv Congress's incumbent MLC Kumar won. Madan Mohan Jha lost the DarJan
Suraaj Party of Prashant — bhanga teachers' seat. In the
GAEAEE WSUEILE SD SUBOUCEIL Ys sitting MLC Afagq Ahmad, contesting on Jan Suraaj ticket, lost, while on Patna teachers seat, 30-year reign of Nawal Kishor Yadav ended.
Experts, however, see the election as a downsizing of the ID(U), as it could win only one seat against BJP's three, which may be reflection of fading influence of former CM Nitish Kumar due to his less involvement in political activities.
"One of the reasons may be that the party got entangled in the Anant Singh vs Neeraj Kumar fight to lose focus from other seats. With Nitish Kumar's son health minister Nishant Kumar joining the campaigning for Neeraj, it seemed to have become a prestige issue for the party, as a loss here would have raised a big question mark. On the other hand, BJP seems to be gaining from polarisation, which the opposition is contributing more in his favour," said political analyst NK Choudhary.
Choudhary said that the loss of Patna teachers' seat could be attributed to anti-incumbency factor, as BJP's Nawal Kishor Yadav held the seat since 1996.
"Overall, BJP seems to be a gainer ina state where itis still to find a way to form government on its own," he added.
The pre-election announcement of giving pay-scale to teachers in unaided institutions and release of 2461-crore grantin-aid for payment of long pending salary may have also worked," he said.
About the Author
Arun Kumar is a veteran journalist and Associate Editor with Hindustan Times, based in Patna. For more than three and a half decades, his reporting has chronicled Bihar's complex political landscape, university and educational reforms, landmark judicial rulings of the Patna High Court, administrative governance, and social shifts across the state. Known for deep investigative reporting and source-grounded accountability journalism, he is a recipient of the prestigious K.C. Kulish Journalism Award and the Keshav Bhatt Journalism Award, and is an LDM Fellow.