RJD, JD(U) and Jan Suraaj line up candidates for eight Bihar Council seats

Campaigning for eight Bihar legislative council seats is gathering pace, with the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) naming six candidates and the ruling Janata Dal (United) moving closer to finalising its list.

The seats fall into two categories — four each for Teachers and Graduates constituencies. The term of the sitting members ends on November 16, 2026, and election dates are expected to be announced by the end of September.

Of the eight seats falling vacant, three are held by the NDA, two by the mahagathbandhan, and the rest by independents, including the Saran teachers' seat backed by the Jan Suraaj Party.

The RJD has fielded Sanjeev Kumar Singh from the Patna teachers' constituency and Prof Jairam Yadav from Saran teachers'. For the graduates' seats, Dilip Kumar will contest from Patna, Anil Kumar Jha from Darbhanga, Rashmi Vinayak Gautam from Tirhut and Nitesh Kumar from Kosi. State party president Mangani Lal Mandal said candidates for the remaining two teachers' constituencies, Darbhanga and Tirhut, will be named shortly.

The selection drew a sharp reaction from party leader Rohini Acharya, the Singapore-based daughter of RJD chief Lalu Prasad. In a social media post, she criticised the preference for "opportunistic faces" over loyal workers, calling the decision a breach of promises to leaders faithful to Lalu Prasad and a blow to the party's organisation and ideology.

On the ruling side, JD(U) has decided to contest four of the eight seats and has almost settled on Neeraj Kumar for Patna graduates' and Abhishek Jha for Tirhut graduates'. State party president Umesh Kushwaha said the full list for all four seats would be announced soon. Alliance partner BJP is yet to declare its candidates.

Within JD(U), Mokama MLA Anant Singh has thrown his weight behind Anuj Singh for the Patna graduates' seat rather than Neeraj Kumar. The party held a meeting to settle the matter, but sources said Anant Singh continued to back Anuj Singh.

The newly launched Jan Suraaj Party, led by former poll strategist Prashant Kishor, has said it will field candidates on all eight seats. State party president Manoj Bharti said the final decision will be taken after a party executive meeting later this month. The party recently won the Bankipur assembly by-poll in Patna, a seat traditionally held by BJP state president Nitin Nabin.

Political analyst Nawal Kishore Choudhary said that given the narrow margins typical of Teachers and Graduates constituencies, Jan Suraaj could alter the poll equations this time.