The biennial election to eight Bihar Legislative Council seats witnessed brisk polling in the first two hours on Friday (October 23, 2026), with the Saran Teachers’ constituency recording the highest turnout at 13.56%, followed by Patna at 12.88%.
As many as 5.32 lakh voters were eligible to decide the fate of 150 candidates in the fray. According to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, among the Graduates’ constituencies, Darbhanga recorded the highest turnout at 8%, followed by Patna at 5.5%, Kosi at 5.14% and Tirhut at 4.81%.
Among the Teachers’ constituencies, Saran recorded the highest turnout, followed by Patna, then Darbhanga at 12% and Tirhut at 5.88%. The average voting percentage for the Graduates’ constituencies was 5.86%, and for the Teachers’, 11.08%.
Voting began at 8 a.m. and will continue until 4 p.m. The combined electorate stands at 5,32,847, including 1,46,611 women and 37 third-gender voters, across 933 polling stations. Counting of votes will take place on October 27, 2026. “Polling has so far been peaceful,” an official said.
The contest in the Patna Graduates constituency has drawn the most attention, following a rift within the JD(U), with Mokama MLA Anant Singh backing Jan Suraaj Party candidate Anuj Singh against his own party’s nominee, Neeraj Kumar.
Mr. Kumar, a former Minister and a close aide of former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, is seeking a fourth consecutive term from the seat. Mr. Singh has extended support to Mr. Anuj Singh, alleging that Neeraj Kumar had worked against him during last year’s Assembly elections.
“People are the real masters. It is for them to decide the fate of candidates. I am confident that Anuj Singh will win the election with a massive mandate,” Mr. Singh told reporters. On Nitish Kumar’s brief meeting with Neeraj Kumar on Thursday (October 22, 2026), Mr. Singh said the JD(U) chief “goes wherever they take him.”
Mr. Singh, along with Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor, has been regularly claiming that JD(U) candidate Neeraj Kumar does not have the support of the party chief.
Meanwhile, JD(U) leader Shyam Rajak, whose party is a major constituent of the ruling alliance, said voting was continuing smoothly and that there was a wave of support for the NDA.
Apart from Patna Graduates, the other constituencies where polling is under way are Darbhanga Graduates, Tirhut Graduates, Kosi Graduates, Patna Teachers, Darbhanga Teachers, Tirhut Teachers and Saran Teachers.
One of the early voters in the Patna Teachers’ constituency, Murli Manohar Srivastava, told PTI Videos: “The biggest issue this time is that of teachers working in unaided schools who do not receive proper government financial assistance. Our long-standing demand has been for a formal pay scale, pension and social security. We have been making sustained and strong appeals for it to be fulfilled.”
The 1981 Non-Funded Education Policy was modified by the Nitish Kumar-led government in 2008 to usher in a performance-based grant system. Under it, the Bihar government provides post-result grants to private or community-run educational institutions that largely sustain themselves on students’ fees; the staff there do not have a regular pay scale, leading to unstable income.
Mr. Srivastava said Nawal Kishor Yadav had been consistently working on this issue, and had even secured an announcement from the Samrat Choudhary-led government. Mr. Yadav, the BJP candidate from the Patna Teachers’ constituency, has held the seat continuously for the past 30 years.
The terms of the sitting MLCs are due to expire on November 16, 2026. The BJP has fielded candidates in four constituencies, including three sitting MLCs seeking re-election, while the JD(U) has nominated candidates for the remaining four seats. Besides Mr. Yadav, the other BJP nominees are N.K. Yadav and Sarvesh Kumar, seeking re-election from Kosi Graduates and Tirhut Graduates, respectively.
The party has also fielded Narendra Kumar Singh from Tirhut Teachers, a seat currently held by Sanjay Kumar Singh of the CPI, a constituent of the Opposition INDIA bloc.
The Jan Suraaj Party, led by Mr. Kishor, is contesting all eight seats. The party revised its candidate list after its initial announcement, replacing Bhushan Jha with Shyam Nandan Yadav in Tirhut Teachers, and Ravindra Yadav with Mohammad Imtiyaz (Noorani) in Darbhanga Graduates.
For the Graduates’ constituencies, those who have held a graduate degree from a recognised university in India for at least three years and reside in the constituency concerned are eligible to vote. Similarly, for the Teachers’ constituencies, those with at least three years of teaching experience in secondary schools, colleges and universities can vote. In both cases, voters must be registered on the electoral rolls prepared for the purpose.
Published – October 23, 2026 01:51 pm IST