Bihar MLC Polls Set Up Congress-RJD Contests; NDA Allies Coordinate Strategy
Congress and RJD will directly contest three Bihar MLC seats.
Differences within both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc have emerged ahead of the Bihar Legislative Council elections, with alliance partners preparing to contest against one another on several seats. The elections for eight MLC seats are scheduled for October 23, while votes will be counted on October 27. The developments come months after the two blocs faced similar internal contestation during the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.
The Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), both constituents of the INDIA bloc, are heading for what has been described as a “friendly fight” on four seats. The Congress released its candidates for five MLC constituencies on Thursday night, while the RJD had announced six candidates on September 11. The two parties have named candidates against each other in Patna Teachers’, Patna Graduates’, Kosi Graduates’ and Darbhanga Graduates’ constituencies.
The Congress has, however, re-nominated sitting MLC Madan Mohan Jha from the Darbhanga Teachers’ constituency, where the RJD has not fielded a candidate. With the nomination process still underway, discussions between the alliance partners are continuing, leaving open the possibility of avoiding some of the contests. October 6 is the last date for filing nominations for the elections.
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The ruling NDA is also dealing with a dispute within the Janata Dal (United). Party MLA Anant Kumar Singh has opposed JD(U) candidate Neeraj Kumar in the Patna Graduates’ constituency and announced his support for Jan Suraaj Party candidate Anuj Kumar Singh. The JD(U) has assigned Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, also known as Lalan Singh, the task of addressing the disagreement and resolving the dispute before polling.
JD(U) national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha expressed hope that the issue would be settled, while state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha indicated that disciplinary action could be considered against Anant Kumar Singh for supporting an opposing candidate. Singh, however, argued that elections to the Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituencies are not conducted on party lines and therefore his support for another candidate should not be treated as defiance of the party. The nomination process is currently underway, with the eight-seat election set to conclude with counting on October 27.
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