BJP Announces Candidates for Four Bihar MLC Seats, Polling on October 23

The BJP has renominated Naval Kishore Yadav from the Patna Teachers' constituency and Dr N.K. Yadav from the Kosi Graduates' constituency. Sitting Independent MLC Sarvesh Kumar has been given the party's ticket from Darbhanga Graduates, while Narendra Prasad Singh will contest from the Tirhut Teachers' constituency. The candidate list was cleared by the BJP's Central Election Committee.

Naval Kishore Yadav is the sitting MLC from Patna Teachers, while N.K. Yadav currently represents the Kosi Graduates' constituency. Sarvesh Kumar, who has been associated with the BJP-supported side despite being an Independent, is now contesting the Darbhanga Graduates' seat on the BJP ticket.

Narendra Prasad Singh has been nominated from Tirhut Teachers. He has previously represented the constituency in the Legislative Council and is returning to the contest from the seat.

The elections cover eight seats in all, comprising four Graduate constituencies and four Teachers' constituencies. The Graduate constituencies are Patna, Darbhanga, Tirhut and Kosi, while the Teachers' constituencies are Patna, Darbhanga, Tirhut and Saran.

The Election Commission's schedule provides for polling on October 23 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with counting scheduled for October 27. The notification process begins on September 29, while October 6 is the last date for filing nominations. Scrutiny will take place on October 7 and candidates can withdraw their nominations until October 9. The entire election process is scheduled to conclude by October 31.

The BJP's announcement comes after the party finalised its share of the seats within the National Democratic Alliance. JD(U) has already announced sitting MLC Neeraj Kumar as its candidate for the Patna Graduates' constituency.

The eight constituencies currently have a mix of BJP, JD(U), Congress, CPI and Independent representation. The terms of the sitting members are due to expire on November 16.

With the BJP's candidates now formally announced, the nomination process has begun in the constituencies allocated to the party. The October 23 contest will involve separate electorates of graduates and teachers across the eight council constituencies.

The BJP's list also retains continuity in two constituencies while bringing Sarvesh Kumar into the party's formal electoral fold for Darbhanga Graduates and returning Narendra Prasad Singh to the contest in Tirhut Teachers.

The election process will be closely watched across Bihar as parties finalise nominations and campaign preparations ahead of polling later next month.