Patna: Voting for eight graduate and teacher constituency seats in the Bihar Legislative Council began at 8am on Friday, with 5,32,847 voters eligible to exercise their franchise across 933 polling stations.
The electorate comprises 3,86,199 men, 1,46,611 women and 37 third-gender voters. A total of 150 candidates are contesting the eight seats, including 90 candidates for the four graduate constituencies and 60 for the four teacher constituencies.
Who Can Vote In Graduate Constituencies?
To vote in a graduate constituency, a person must have graduated at least three years ago and submitted Form 19, according to the eligibility criteria outlined for the election.
Key Candidates In Graduate Constituencies
Patna Graduate Constituency: Neeraj Kumar of JD(U), Dr Asadullah Khan of Congress, Dilip Kumar of RJD and Anuj Kumar of Jan Suraj are among the key candidates.
Darbhanga Graduate Constituency: Sarvesh Kumar of BJP, Rajnikant Pathak of Congress, Anil Kumar Jha of RJD and Md Imtiyaz of Jan Suraj are contesting.
Tirhut Graduate Constituency: Abhishek Jha of JD(U), Dr Rashmi Vinayak Gautam of RJD, Vimohan Kumar of Jan Suraj and independent candidate Vanshidhar Brajvasi are in the fray.
Koshi Graduate Constituency: NK Yadav of BJP, Manoj Kumar Jaiswal of Congress, Nitesh Kumar of RJD and Rajnish Ranjan of Jan Suraj are contesting.
Key Candidates In Teacher Constituencies
Patna Teacher Constituency: Naval Kishore Yadav of BJP, Dr Sanjay Yadav of Congress, Dr Sanjeev Kumar of RJD and Divya Jyoti of Jan Suraj are among the candidates.
Darbhanga Teacher Constituency: Ghanshyam Rai of JD(U), Madan Mohan Jha of Congress and Suresh Prasad Rai of Jan Suraj are contesting.
Tirhut Teacher Constituency: Narendra Prasad Singh of BJP, Sanjay Kumar of CPI and Shyam Nandan Yadav of Jan Suraj are in the fray.
Saran Teacher Constituency: Anand Pushkar of JD(U), Prof Jayram Yadav of RJD and Afaq Ahmed of Jan Suraj are contesting.
Security Arrangements Across Polling Stations
Six mounted troops have been deployed for surveillance and security in diyara areas, which are low-lying riverine tracts. Static magistrates have been assigned to all polling premises, while videography arrangements have been made at polling stations.
Authorities have said immediate action will be taken if reports of violations of the Model Code of Conduct or other irregularities are received.
