CM Nitish Kumar Files Nomination Papers for Re-Election to Legislative Council
Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday filed his nomination papers for re-election to the Bihar legislative council.
Nitish Kumar filed his nomination papers in the presence of a host of senior leaders of the ruling NDA, including his deputies Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha. Former JD(U) President Lalan Singh and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) Chief Jitan Ram Manjhi were also present.
Mr. Kumar who is also JD(U) president will contest for a fourth consecutive term in the upper house, having first been elected in 2006, shortly after assuming office as Bihar Chief Minister in 2005. His current tenure in the Bihar Legislative Council is set to conclude on May 6.
The Election Commission’s announcement of biennial polls for 11 seats of the Bihar Legislative Council has set the stage for re-elections.
Other prominent leaders, including former Bihar CM and RJD leader Rabri Devi and BJP’s Shahnawaz Hussain, are also scheduled to complete their terms alongside Nitish Kumar.
The JD(U) currently holds four out of the 11 seats in Bihar legislative assembly. However, due to reduced seats in the legislative assembly, the party will be giving up two seats to its ally BJP. The BJP secured more seats in the 2020 assembly elections.
Besides Nitish Kumar, nomination papers were also filed by Jitan Ram Manjhi’s son Santosh Suman and JD(U) MLC Khalid Anwar.
The BJP has not yet announced the names of its candidates, but Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary clarified that the party will contest four seats, leaving one for their ally HAM. The party had previously held three seats for which elections have been announced.
According to BJP insiders, the party intends to contest at least seven seats but is open to contesting more. Of the remaining seats, three are currently held by the opposition Mahagathbandhan’s RJD and Congress.
The deadline for filing nominations is March 11, with the last date for withdrawal being March 14. The voting is scheduled to take place on March 21.
