Bihar MLC Elections Approach as RJD Picks Candidates for Key Seats

The countdown to Bihar’s Legislative Council elections has begun, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal is moving swiftly to secure its position. Out of eight seats – four reserved for teachers and four for graduates – the party has unveiled its nominees for six constituencies.

In Patna, the RJD’s ticket includes Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Singh for the teacher segment and Dilip Kumar for the graduate segment. The party’s roster also features Nitesh Kumar (Kosi Graduate), Anil Kumar Jha (Darbhanga Graduate), Prof. Jairam Yadav (Saran Teacher) and Dr. Rashmi Vinayak Gautam (Tirhut Graduate). The selection of candidates for the two remaining seats is still under internal review.

Teacher constituencies are unique, with a limited electorate of qualified educators. Patna registers the highest number of teacher voters at 16,689, followed by Saran (10,800), Tirhut (9,204) and Darbhanga (8,967). Graduate constituencies host a far larger voting base – Tirhut leads with approximately 135,000 voters, then Kosi with about 134,000, Darbhanga around 127,000 and Patna close to 88,000.

Competing parties have already announced their contenders. For the teacher seats, BJP’s Prof. Naval Kishore Yadav (Patna), Congress’s Dr. Madan Mohan Jha (Darbhanga), independent Afak Ahmad (Saran) and CPI’s Sanjay Kumar Singh (Tirhut) are in the race. In the graduate seats, JD(U) backs Neeraj Kumar (Patna), BJP presents N.K. Yadav (Kosi), and independents Sarvesh Kumar (Darbhanga) and Banshidhar Brijwasi (Tirhut) have filed nominations.

The current members’ terms will conclude on November 16, and the Election Commission is expected to issue the official poll schedule in September, prompting all parties to intensify their outreach to the specialised voter groups.