NEW DELHI: With Bihar set to vote for eight Legislative Council seats later this month, differences within the state’s two principal political alliances have spilled into the open, with the ruling NDA and opposition INDIA bloc both facing contests involving their own constituents and leaders.
The RJD initially announced six candidates on September 11. It fielded Sanjeev Kumar Singh from Patna Teachers’, Dilip Kumar from Patna Graduates’, Nitesh Kumar from Kosi Graduates’, Anil Kumar Jha from Darbhanga Graduates’, Jairam Yadav from Saran Teachers’ and Rashmi Vinayak Gautam from Tirhut Graduates’. At that stage, the party did not announce nominees for the Darbhanga Teachers’ and Tirhut Teachers’. Congress later unveiled five candidates, including former Bihar Congress president and sitting MLC Madan Mohan Jha from Darbhanga Teachers’. Its decision to field candidates from Patna, Kosi and Darbhanga graduates’ constituencies put the party directly against RJD nominees in these seats. With Rai’s entry, RJD and Congress candidates are now set to face each other in five constituencies, underlining the absence of a comprehensive seat-sharing arrangement for the Council polls. In Saran Teachers’, the JD(U) has fielded sitting MLC Anand Pushkar, but another NDA constituent, Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), has laid claim to the constituency.
The RJD had earlier stayed out of the constituency, raising expectations that the seat could be left for Congress. The differences became more pronounced on Saturday when the RJD announced Kumar Rai as its candidate from Darbhanga Teachers’, pitting him against Jha.
Council elections from graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies differ significantly from Assembly contests. Voting rights are restricted to eligible and registered graduates or teachers, and the constituencies often stretch across several districts. Personal networks, professional associations and years of constituency-level mobilisation can consequently matter as much as conventional party structures.
Sinha has said he has the backing of Kushwaha and RLM state president Alok Singh. RLM state general secretary and spokesperson Ram Pukar Sinha has announced his decision to contest from the seat and is expected to file his nomination on Monday.
