BJP loses Patna Teachers seat ending 30-year hold in Bihar MLC polls
The BJP lost its 30-year grip on the Patna Teachers constituency in Bihar's Legislative Council elections, with the RJD securing the seat.
The Bharatiya Janata Party lost its 30-year hold on the Patna Teachers constituency in the Bihar Legislative Council elections. The Rashtriya Janata Dal's Dr. Sanjeev Kumar defeated five-time BJP MLC Naval Kishore Yadav to claim the seat, marking a significant shift in a long-standing political stronghold.
In declared results, the BJP secured three seats. The party won the Darbhanga Graduates seat with Sarvesh Kumar, the Tirhut Teachers seat with Dr. Narendra Singh, and the Kosi Graduates seat with N.K. Yadav. The Jan Suraaj Party won one seat, with Suresh Rai taking Darbhanga Teachers. Two independents, Banshidhar Brishwasi in Tirhut Graduates and Rahul Raj in Saran Teachers, also won. The BJP had won only two seats in the 2020 MLC polls, making its performance this time a relative improvement. Rahul Raj, a rebel BJP candidate who ran as an independent, won the Saran Teachers seat by a margin of 1,815 votes.
Key seat outcomes
The JD(U) managed to retain the Patna Graduates constituency, where Neeraj Kumar defeated the RJD's Dilip Rai. In the Darbhanga Graduate constituency, the BJP's Sarvesh Kumar led the RJD's Anil Kumar Jha. The BJP-backed N. K. Yadav won the Kosi Graduate constituency. The JD(U)-backed Neeraj Kumar won the Patna Graduate constituency, though this result had not been officially declared at the time of reporting. The RJD-backed Dilip Patel finished second there, while the Jan Suraaj-backed Anuj Singh came third. The independent candidate Vanshidhar Brajwasi held a decisive lead in the Tirhut Graduate constituency.
Contested races and margins
Close margins defined several of the victories. The BJP's Narendra Kumar Yadav won the Kosi Graduates seat by over 2,000 votes. The Jan Suraaj Party's Suresh Rai beat Congress leader and former Bihar Congress president Madan Mohan Jha to win the Darbhanga Teachers seat. Six of the eight Bihar Legislative Council election seats had been declared, with results for the remaining constituencies expected around midnight.
Neeraj Kumar of the JD(U), commenting on his win in Patna Graduates, said: "Dhanbal aur bahubal hara hai. Karyakartabal aur janbal ki jeet hui hai." The overall results show a fragmented outcome, with the BJP, JD(U), RJD, Jan Suraaj, and an independent candidate each winning one seat in the declared counts. Official declaration of the remaining constituency results was expected after midnight.
