Patna: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] have consolidated their position in the Bihar Legislative Council after 10 newly elected members were sworn into the Upper House on Wednesday.
The ceremony, held at the Legislative Council annexe in Patna, was presided over by Council Chairman Awadhesh Narayan Singh, who administered the oath of office and secrecy in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.
BJP, JD(U) Increase Their Strength
With the induction of the new members, the BJP’s strength in the Legislative Council has increased to 25, while the JD(U) now has 21 members.
Among those sworn in from the BJP were Anil Thakur, Pawan Singh, Sanjay Prakash, and Sheila Pandit.
The JD(U) members who took the oath included Lalan Prasad, Health Minister Nishant Kumar, Bharti Mehta, and Shivrani Devi.
Ashraf Ansari of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Sunil Kumar Singh of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) also took the oath.
Before the ceremony, Legislative Council Secretary-in-Charge Shankar Kumar read out the official notification relating to the election of the members.
Senior Leaders Attend Ceremony
The swearing-in programme was attended by several senior political leaders, including Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Tejashwi Yadav, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar, Legislative Council Deputy Chairman Ramvachan Rai and Agriculture Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha.
Several ministers, legislators and members of the Legislative Council were also present during the ceremony.
Current Party Position In The Legislative Council
Following the swearing-in, the party-wise strength in the Bihar Legislative Council stands as follows:
| Party | Members |
|---|---|
| BJP | 25 |
| JD(U) | 21 |
| RJD | 15 |
| Congress | 2 |
| Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) | 1 |
| Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) | 1 |
| Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) | 1 |
| CPI | 1 |
| CPI(M) | 1 |
| Independents | 7 |
The latest additions further strengthen the ruling National Democratic Alliance’s presence in the Upper House as political parties prepare for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.
