Patna: The Election Commission of India has announced elections for 10 seats in the Bihar Legislative Council, with voting scheduled to take place on June 18.
The election notification was issued on Tuesday for the biennial elections to nine seats whose terms are expiring on June 28, along with a by-election for the seat vacated by former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Nomination Process to Begin on June 1
According to the schedule released by the Election Commission:
- Formal notification will be issued on June 1
- Nominations can be filed from June 1 to June 8
- Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on June 9
- The last date for withdrawal of nominations is June 11
If exactly 10 valid nominations remain after the withdrawal deadline, candidates will be declared elected unopposed.
In the event of more than 10 nominations, voting will be conducted on June 18 between 9am and 4pm.
Vote counting will begin after 4pm on the same day, following the conclusion of polling.
Terms of Nine Members Ending on June 28
The terms of the following Legislative Council members are set to expire on June 28:
- Dr Kumud Verma
- Prof Ghulam Ghaus
- Md Farooq
- Bhisham Sahni
- Shribhagwan Singh Kushwaha
- Sanjay Prakash
- Samikar Kumar Singh
- Samrat Chaudhary
- Sunil Kumar Singh
The election will fill these nine seats through the biennial election process.
A by-election has also been announced for the vacant seat previously held by Nitish Kumar.
Congress Faces Major Setback
The upcoming Legislative Council election is expected to deal a significant setback to the Indian National Congress in Bihar.
According to political calculations based on current Assembly strength, the Congress will not be able to send even a single member to the Council under the Assembly quota this time.
The term of Congress Legislative Council member Dr Sameer Kumar Singh is also ending on June 28. Following the expiry of his tenure, the party’s strength in the Council will reduce further, leaving it with only two members.
RJD Also Likely to Lose One Seat
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is also expected to lose one seat in the Council.
Although two of its members are retiring, the party’s current numerical strength in the Bihar Legislative Assembly will allow it to secure only one seat in the upcoming election.
The June 18 poll is therefore expected to reshape the political composition of the Bihar Legislative Council under the Assembly quota system.
