Advantage NDA as Opposition Splits & Jan Suraaj Debuts
After the Bankipur Assembly by-election loss, the BJP-led NDA stands a chance to restore the lost political sheen in Bihar in the biennial elections to the Bihar Legislative Council for eight seats on Friday. While the ruling alliance looks to re-establish its electoral supremacy in the state where it coasted to a victory less than a year ago, the Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) is contesting all eight seats in its debut poll battle for the Upper House.
The NDA appears to enjoy a slight advantage because of a fragmented Opposition. Apart from four Graduates seats, four Teachers constituencies are at stake. The JSP, NDA insiders believe, will divide the votes, thus helping its cause. However, the ruling alliance’s only hurdle is internal bickering in the JD(U) for the Patna Graduates seat, where the party’s sitting candidate Neeraj Kumar is facing open resistance from the party’s Mokama MLA Anant Kumar Singh, who is backing the JSP’s Anuj Singh.
At present, the NDA holds three seats — Kosi Graduates and Patna Teachers (BJP), and Patna Graduates (JD-U) — while Independents hold three — Tirhut Graduates, Darbhanga Graduates, and Saran Teachers. The CPI and the Congress hold Tirhut Teachers and Darbhanga Teachers’ seats respectively. More than 5.32 lakh voters across 30 districts will decide the fate of 150 candidates.
While these seats will not immediately alter the NDA’s broader numerical majority in the Legislative Council, the outcome serves as a crucial barometer to gauge where intellectuals and salaried professionals in the state stand. For the NDA, which replaced Nitish Kumar with Samrat Choudhary as CM earlier this year, it is a test of administrative satisfaction. For the Mahagathbandhan, it is an opportunity to consolidate any anti-incumbency sentiment that exists, but the friendly fights taking place in different seats point to its inherent weakness. For the JSP, this will be the first major electoral trial of strength across multi-district constituencies.
What Opposition, NDA are saying
The RJD said the decision not to field joint candidates was by design. “Unlike in the Assembly or Lok Sabha elections, we have a broad socio-political constituency in the MLC polls. Moreover, separate footprints across all contested seats give voters more choices within the broader Opposition spectrum rather than restricting them to a single compromise candidate,” said the party’s national spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehta.
State Congress media in-charge Asit Nath Tiwari pointed out there was no alliance in previous Council elections too. “These elections are not fought on a party ticket or election symbol; instead, candidates are extended support. We, too, have extended our support to good candidates,” he said.
JD(U) national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad said the party was confident that the ruling alliance was confident of winning all eight seats. “We do not see any potential challenge from the divided Mahagathbandhan. Prashant Kishor is nowhere in this election,” he said. His sentiments were echoed by state BJP media in-charge Danish Eqbal.
“In a short span of time, the government has undertaken significant initiatives to strengthen the education sector and improve the welfare of teachers, schools, and universities under the leadership of Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. As for the Jan Suraaj Party, serious questions are being raised about its claims of political change and good governance,” Eqbal said.
The JSP, however, remains confident of making an impact. “The entry of the JSP has changed the way political parties used to treat it. Mathematical probability shows that we have a 50% chance, which means we can win four to five seats. But then again, there can be no final word in elections,” said JSP’s state president Manoj Bharti.
