164 candidates file nominations for eight Bihar Legislative Council seats
As many as 164 candidates have filed their nomination papers for the biennial elections to eight seats of the Bihar Legislative Council, the Chief Electoral Officer's office said in a statement on Tuesday.
Tuesday was the last day for filing nominations for the October 23 polls.
According to the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer, 98 candidates have filed nominations for four graduates' constituencies and 66 for four teachers' constituencies.
The eight seats going to polls are Patna, Darbhanga, Tirhut and Kosi Graduates' constituencies, and Patna, Darbhanga, Tirhut and Saran Teachers' constituencies.
Among the graduates' constituencies, Darbhanga recorded the highest number of 40 candidates, followed by Patna with 22, Tirhut with 20 and Kosi with 16.
Among the teachers' constituencies, Patna recorded 22 candidates, followed by Saran with 19, Darbhanga with 14 and Tirhut with 11.
Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on October 7, while candidates can withdraw their nominations until October 9. Polling will be held from 8 am to 4 pm on October 23, with counting scheduled for October 27.
The terms of sitting MLCs Neeraj Kumar (Patna Graduates), Sarvesh Kumar (Darbhanga Graduates), Bansi Dhar Brajwasi (Tirhut Graduates), N K Yadav (Kosi Graduates), Nawal Kishore Yadav (Patna Teachers), Madan Mohan Jha (Darbhanga Teachers), Sanjay Kumar Singh (Tirhut Teachers) and Afaque Ahmad (Saran Teachers) will expire on November 16.
The BJP has fielded four candidates, three of them sitting MLCs seeking re-election. The JD(U) has nominated candidates for the remaining four seats.
The BJP candidates include sitting MLCs Nawal Kishore Yadav, Dr N K Yadav and Sarvesh Kumar, who are seeking re-election from the Patna Teachers', Kosi Graduates' and Tirhut Graduates' constituencies, respectively.
The party has also fielded Narendra Kumar Singh from the Tirhut Teachers' constituency, currently held by Sanjay Kumar Singh of the CPI, a constituent of the opposition INDIA bloc.
The Jan Suraaj Party, led by Prashant Kishor, is contesting all eight seats.
The party's candidates are Anuj Singh (Patna Graduates), Vimohan Kumar (Tirhut Graduates), Shyam Nandan Yadav (Tirhut Teachers), Afaq Ahmed (Saran Teachers), lawyer and academician-turned-politician Divya Jyoti (Patna Teachers), S P Rai (Darbhanga Teachers), Mohammad Imtiyaz (Darbhanga Graduates) and Rajnish Ranjan (Kosi Graduates).
For graduates' constituencies, individuals holding a graduation degree from any recognised university in India and residing within the respective constituency are eligible to vote. They must also register themselves on the electoral rolls maintained specifically for these constituencies.
For teachers' constituencies, educators working in educational institutions in the state at or above the secondary-school level, with at least three years of teaching experience, are eligible to vote. They must also register separately on the electoral roll for the respective teachers' constituency.