The electoral process for the 11 vacant seats in the Bihar Legislative Council commenced on Monday, March 4, 2024, with the term of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and former CM Rabri Devi drawing to a close. Among the elected members, there are three from the BJP, three from JD(U), one from RJD, one from Congress, and one from HAM.
The list of candidates for these seats is gradually taking shape, with JD(U) already finalizing two candidates, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Khalid Anwar. Other parties are expected to reveal their candidates on Tuesday.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is set to file his nomination for the MLC position on Tuesday, March 5, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Bettiah on March 6, where the CM is also expected to attend. Following this, Nitish Kumar will be abroad on March 7, prompting him to file his nomination on March 5 due to a busy schedule.
The election schedule for the Legislative Council is as follows: The deadline for filing nominations is March 11, scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on March 12, candidates can withdraw their nominations until March 14, voting will occur from 9 AM to 4 PM on March 21, and the results will be announced later that evening. According to the Election Commission, the entire election process will be completed by March 23.
To secure victory for one Legislative Council seat, a candidate needs the support of votes from 21 members of the legislative assembly. With the current strength, NDA is likely to secure victories on six seats, while the opposition requires the votes of 105 MLAs to win five seats.
The terms of Bihar Legislative Council members Khalid Anwar, Nitish Kumar, Premchand Mishra, Mangal Pandey, Rabri Devi, Ramchandra Purve, Ramayshwar Mahato, Sanjay Paswan, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, Sanjay Kumar Jha, and Santosh Kumar Suman are coming to an end.”
