BJP names candidates for Bihar, Maharashtra Legislative Council bypolls
The by-election for the Bihar legislative council in Bihar and Maharashtra will be held on May 12. The BJP's Central Election Committee cleared the following names for the bypolls.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday (April 28 announced its candidates for the 2026 by-elections to the Legislative Councils in Bihar and Maharashtra. The party also named candidates for the biennial Legislative Council Elections in Maharashtra.
The party's Central Election Committee cleared the following names for the bypolls:
- Bihar: Surya Kumar Sharma (Arvind Sharma)
- Maharashtra: Dr Pradnya Rajeev Satav
BJP announces five candidates for Maharashtra MLC polls
The saffron party also announced the candidates for the biennial Maharashtra Legislative Council Elections 2026. For the biennial Council Elections, the BJP has fielded five candidates:
- Sunil Karjatkar
- Madhavi Naik
- Sanjay Bhende
- Vivek Kolhe
- Pramod Jathar
Karjatkar is a veteran party worker, who acted as a strategist for some state elections in the past. He was once close to BJP leader late Pramod Mahajan.
Vivek Kolhe is the son of former party MLA Snehalata Kolhe. She did not contest the 2024 assembly polls as the Kopargaon assembly segment in Ahilyanagar district as it was allotted to ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Sanjay Bhende was in-charge of Union minister Nitin Gadkari's Lok Sabha election in 2024, and is the chairperson of Nagpur Urban Cooperative Bank at present.
Madhavi Naik, general secretary of the state unit of the party, who hails from Thane is also nominated by the party for the Upper House of the state legislature.
Pramod Jathar is from Sindhudurg and former MLA of the party.
The biennial election is scheduled to be held on May 12. The last date for filing nominations is April 30, scrutiny will be held on May 2, and candidates can withdraw their nominations till May 4. Polling for the elections will be held on May 12 from 9 am to 4 pm, and counting of votes will take place at 5 pm the same day. The election process is scheduled to be completed by May 13.
Bihar MLC bypoll schedule
The by-election for the Bhojpur-cum-Buxar Local Authorities' Constituency in Bihar will be held on May 12. The seat fell vacant after JD(U) MLC Radha Charan Sah resigned following his election to the state Assembly from Sandesh in 2025.
As per the election schedule, the formal notification for the by-election will be issued on April 16. Candidates can file their nominations until April 23, while scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on April 24. The final date for withdrawal of candidature has been fixed for April 27.
Voting will be held on May 12 between 8 am and 4 pm, while counting is scheduled for May 14. The process will conclude by May 15.
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