Key facts
- Nine candidates, including Bhojpuri star Pawan Singh and Bihar Health Minister Nishant Kumar, were elected unopposed to the Bihar Legislative Council.
- The ruling NDA secured eight of the nine seats, with the RJD taking one.
- JD(U) leader Lalan Saraf won a separate by-election unopposed.
- The elected candidates represent various sections of society, including backward classes and minority representatives.
- Sunil Kumar Singh of RJD and Sanjay Mayukh of BJP will serve their third consecutive terms.
Bhojpuri film star Pawan Singh, Bihar Health Minister Nishant Kumar, and BJP national media co-in-charge Sanjay Mayukh were among nine candidates declared elected unopposed to the Bihar Legislative Council on Thursday. The nominations were for nine seats in the Upper House, with biennial elections recently announced.
Of the nine seats, eight were secured by candidates from the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), while the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) secured one seat. The BJP, part of the NDA, won four seats, including those of Singh and Mayukh, who belong to upper castes. Anil Thakur and Sheela Pandit, both from extremely backward classes, also won for the BJP.
The Janata Dal (United) or JD(U), another NDA constituent, contested three of the four seats it held and secured three berths with Nishant Kumar, Bharti Mehta (an EBC and party spokesperson), and Shivrani Devi Prajapati (an OBC and former state general secretary) being elected.
Ashraf Ansari of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), led by Union minister Chirag Paswan, also secured a seat, marking a first for the party in the legislative council. Ansari is considered a trusted aide of Chirag Paswan's late father, Ram Vilas Paswan.
The RJD's Sunil Kumar Singh secured his third consecutive term, reportedly causing some internal friction within the party. Former MLA Shiv Chandra Ram resigned from the RJD after being denied a council ticket, though his resignation was not accepted.
Except for Pawan Singh, whose brother represented him, all other elected candidates personally received their certificates. Sunil Singh and Sanjay Mayukh are the only ones entering their third term; the rest are first-time members of the Legislative Council.
The elections also saw some internal rumblings within the NDA, as minister Deepak Prakash, son of Rashtriya Lok Morcha president Upendra Kushwaha, was not given a ticket. Prakash, not currently a member of either house, faces a deadline to be elected within six months of his cabinet induction.