Eleven candidates, including Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Rabri Devi, and 9 others, have been elected unopposed to the Bihar Legislative Council. March 14 was the final date to file nominations for the state legislative council. The total now stands at 3 candidates from the BJP, 2 from JD(U), 4 from RJD, 1 from the Congress, and 1 from other parties.
The Election Commission has announced biennial polls for 11 seats of the state legislative council, the terms of which would end in May. Of these, the JD(U) had held four, though following a diminution in its strength in the assembly, the party has given up its claim on two of the seats.
Last week, Bihar CM Kumar filed his nomination papers for re-election to the state legislative council. Kumar, who is running for a fourth consecutive term, filed his nomination papers in the presence of a host of senior leaders of the ruling NDA.
Besides Kumar, nomination papers were filed by his cabinet colleague Santosh Suman and JD(U) MLC Khalid Anwar.
In Bihar, BJP fielded Mangal Pandey, Dr. Lal Mohan Gupta, and Anamika Singh for the MLC election 2024.
On the Lok Sabha elections front, the BJP has said it will contest 17 of the state’s 40 seats, under a formula that was finalised after the impasse with Chirag Paswan’s faction of the Lok Janshakti Party was resolved. Janata Dal United will field candidates on 16 seats, Chirag Paswan’s LJP will contest on five seats, Upendra Kushwaha and Jitan Ram Manjhi will contest on one seat each.
In 2019 too, the BJP and the JDU had decided on a 50:50 formula and contested on an equal number of seats. Last election, BJP and JD United fought on 17 seats each, six were given to Lok Janashakti Party, then led Ram Vilas Paswan. The alliance had won 39 of the 40 seats — only one had gone to the Opposition.
(With PTI inputs)
