Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor on Sunday announced five candidates for the upcoming Bihar Legislative Council elections, with polls expected to be announced soon.
The party has named candidates for five of the eight constituencies where elections are due. The eight seats comprise four graduates' constituencies and four teachers' constituencies, with the terms of the sitting members ending in November.
Five candidates announced by Jan Suraaj
Addressing a press conference in Patna, Kishor announced the names of five candidates who will contest the upcoming MLC elections. Afaq Ahmed has been fielded from the Saran teachers' constituency. Ahmed is seeking re-election from the seat, which he had won six years ago with the support of Kishor, who at the time had not yet launched the Jan Suraaj Party.
The party has fielded lawyer and academician-turned-politician Divya Jyoti from the Patna teachers' constituency. Jyoti joined Jan Suraaj last week. The Patna teachers' seat is currently held by JD(U) chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar. Jan Suraaj has also announced S P Rai as its candidate from the Darbhanga teachers' constituency. For the graduates' constituencies, the party has fielded Ravindra Yadav from the Darbhanga graduates' seat and Rajnish Ranjan from the Kosi graduates' constituency.
Polls to be held for eight seats
Elections are due for a total of eight Bihar Legislative Council constituencies. These include four graduates' seats and four teachers' seats, with the terms of the current members set to expire in November.
The MLC election will be separate from the Bihar Assembly polls.
The eight constituencies cover around 30 districts across the state and represent graduate and teacher voters.
Jan Suraaj had earlier announced that it would contest all eight seats as part of its organisational expansion strategy.
Jan Suraaj expands electoral presence
The announcement marks the party's entry into the upcoming Bihar Legislative Council contest across the graduates' and teachers' constituencies. The party has now named candidates for five of the eight seats, while the information provided does not specify candidates for the remaining three constituencies.
In these MLC elections, the local influence of candidates, their standing among graduate and teacher voters, and the strength of party organisations are expected to be important factors in the contest. With Jan Suraaj having announced five candidates, attention will now be on the remaining seats and the final election schedule.
(With inputs from PTI)
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