Polling for eight Bihar Legislative Council seats passes off peacefully amid complaints, firecrackers

Elections for eight Bihar Legislative Council seats, four each from the Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituencies, passed off peacefully on Friday (October 23, 2026), even as the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) accused the police in Patna of having “misused” their power to harass its candidate. Firecrackers were also burst outside the residence of Anant Singh, the strongman MLA from Mokama of the Janata Dal (United), a ruling National Democratic Alliance partner, to celebrate the expected victory of Anuj Kumar Singh, the Opposition Jan Suraaj Party’s candidate from the Patna Graduates’ seat. The results are scheduled to be announced on October 27.

The turnout in the biennial elections was 43.87% for the four Graduates’ seats and 74.55% for the Teachers’ constituencies. “Any report of untoward incident from anywhere did not come during the poll,” said a senior police official at the Police Headquarters in Patna, on condition of anonymity. The four Graduates’ constituencies that went for elections were Patna, Darbhanga, Tirhut and Kosi, while the four Teachers’ constituencies were Patna, Darbhanga, Saran and Tirhut. Voting for the eight seats began at 8 a.m. and ended at 4 p.m. The combined strength of voters was 5,32,847, including 37 third-gender voters, across 933 polling stations in the State.

The Patna Graduates’ seat, however, became the centre of attention as the JD(U) had fielded its official candidate and party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar, while the party’s strongman MLA from Mokama, Anant Singh, supported the Jan Suraaj Party nominee Anuj Kumar Singh and campaigned hard for him. Neeraj Kumar, a three-time JD(U) Member of the Legislative Council who is seeking a fourth consecutive term, was seen offering prayers and meeting his party supporters in the constituency on polling day.

The JD(U), led by former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and other party leaders had, however, solidly come out in support of Neeraj Kumar. Mr. Nitish Kumar’s son and State Health Minister Nishant Kumar too campaigned extensively for him. As polling progressed on Friday, Mr. Nitish Kumar visited the party headquarters in Patna around 10 a.m. and inquired about the Council elections, and is said to have returned thereafter to his official residence at 7, Circular Road.

Meanwhile, when asked what he would do if the party expelled him for anti-party activities after the results were announced, Mr. Anant Singh said, “Let them expel me, I am ready.” He is considered close to the party’s Munger MP and Union Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh. Both come from the upper caste Bhumihar community and support each other in elections.

Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD and the party’s candidate from the Patna Teachers’ constituency, Sanjeev Kumar Singh, alleged that the police were “harassing the candidate to influence the poll”. The RJD candidate, a doctor by profession and a former MLA, had earlier accused the Patna Police of conducting a raid at his residence in the Kankarbagh area of Patna on Thursday (October 22, 2026) night “without a warrant”.