BJP's performance in Bihar MLC elections, RJD and JSP secure key positions

Results for the Bihar Legislative Council elections have begun to be declared, with the outcomes for six out of a total of eight seats announced so far. This election was held for two separate constituencies, teachers and graduates, with four seats allocated to each. According to preliminary results, the Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal (RJD) has snatched the Patna Teachers' constituency seat, considered a strong bastion of the BJP. On the other hand, Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) has also secured a significant victory in the Darbhanga Teachers' constituency.

A major split has been observed in the results of the teachers' constituencies. The BJP has secured victory in the Tirhut Teachers' constituency, where BJP candidate Narendra Kumar Singh defeated the incumbent CTP MLC Sanjay Kumar Singh. This victory is the reverse of the 2020 election results, when Sanjay Kumar Singh was the winner. The BJP has also achieved success in the Kosi Graduate constituency, where N.K. Yadav defeated RJD's Nitish Kumar by a margin of more than 9,000 votes. JSP candidate Rajneesh Ranjan remained in third place in this contest.

A major setback for the BJP has occurred in the Patna Teachers' constituency. Veteran BJP candidate Nawal Kishore Yadav, who had held this seat for five consecutive terms, was defeated by RJD's Dr. Sanjeev Kumar by 1,057 votes. Sanjeev Kumar's elder brother Rajiv Kumar is a Congress party MLC. In this way, the four seats of the teachers' constituencies have been divided between the BJP, RJD, JSP, and an independent candidate.

In the Saran Teachers' constituency, rebel BJP leader and independent candidate Rahul Raj has won. He defeated the official NDA candidate and JDU's Anand Pushkar. Independent candidate Afaque Ahmad, who was the winner of the 2023 by-election, was also contesting this seat but remained in third place. After his victory, Rahul Raj stated that it would have been better if the party had given him the ticket, although he holds respect for the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress has suffered a major loss in the Darbhanga Teachers' constituency. Incumbent Congress MLC Madan Mohan Jha has conceded defeat against Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party candidate Suresh Prasad Rai. This victory could be challenging for JDU National Working President Sanjay Jha in the Mithila region, as he hails from the same region. With this, the Jan Suraaj Party's representation in the Bihar Legislative Assembly has also increased, as this is their second election victory, having previously won the Bankipur Assembly by-election in August.

The NDA's performance in the graduate constituencies has been mixed, but they remain in a strong position. In the Patna Graduate constituency, JDU's Neeraj Kumar has secured victory for the fourth consecutive time. He has achieved a decisive lead of more than 2,200 votes against RJD's Dilip Kumar, while JSP's Anuj Singh remained in third place. After his victory, Neeraj Kumar met JDU National President and former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his official residence to seek blessings. Congratulating him, Nitish Kumar urged him to continue public service with the principle of 'Nyay Ke Saath Vikas'. Neeraj Kumar attributed this victory to the result of collective trust and efforts.

In the Darbhanga Graduate constituency, BJP's Sarvesh Kumar is leading by 1,291 votes against RJD's Anil Jha. In the Tirhut Graduate constituency, independent candidate Bansidhar Brajwasi is leading by 5,705 votes against JDU's Abhishek Jha. According to reports, Sarvesh and Bansidhar will remain ahead until the counting is completed. According to the trends so far, out of the total eight seats, the NDA is on track to win four seats, while two seats will be won by independent candidates, one by the JSP, and one by the RJD candidate.

The voter turnout in this election was also significant. A combined 53.42% voting took place in the graduate constituencies, while 82.85% voting was recorded in the teachers' constituencies. In Patna, 59.56% voting took place for graduate seats and 74.75% for teachers' seats. The highest turnout of 89.05% was recorded for teachers' seats in the Saran constituency. In this election, 90 candidates for graduate seats and 60 for teachers' seats were contesting, involving a total of more than 5.32 lakh voters. Security arrangements were kept tight near the Bankipur Government Girls' High Secondary School on the day of counting in Patna.