Bihar: After LS polls, 5 MLA seats, one MLC, two RS seats up for grabs
Four sitting MLAs have been elected as MPs, one resigned as MLA but lost in LS polls. Two Rajya Sabha members have won LS polls.
Parliamentary elections are over, but heightened political activity is set to continue in Bihar, where five assembly seats, two Rajya Sabha seats and one legislative council seat will be up for grabs in bypolls to be held within six months since seven of the incumbents have got elected as MPs of the Lok Sabha.
Also, the NDA government in the state will also have to scout for a new chairman of the legislative council as incumbent to the post, Devesh Chandra Thakur of the JD-U, has been elected as MP from Sitamarhi. Thakur has been a four-time MLC.
Four sitting MLAs have been elected as MPs and they will have to resign as assembly members in the next few days. Sudhakar Singh, RJD MLA from Ramgarh, has been elected as Buxar MP from the same party while Sudama Prasad, sitting CPI-ML(LIberation) MLA from Tarari, has been elected Arrah MP from the same party. Former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, sitting MLA from Imamganj, has been elected MP from Gaya and Surendra Prasad Yadav , sitting RJD MLA from Belaganj (Gaya), is the new MP from Jehanabad.
A fifth assembly seat due for bypoll is Rupauli in Purnea district, whose JD-U MLA Bima Bharti relinquished her assembly membership just before the Lok Sabha polls to switch sides and contest as RJD’s nomimee from Purnea parliamentary seat. Bharti lost her deposit in Purnea, which has elected Independent candidate Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav as its new MP.
{{/usCountry}}A fifth assembly seat due for bypoll is Rupauli in Purnea district, whose JD-U MLA Bima Bharti relinquished her assembly membership just before the Lok Sabha polls to switch sides and contest as RJD’s nomimee from Purnea parliamentary seat. Bharti lost her deposit in Purnea, which has elected Independent candidate Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav as its new MP.
{{/usCountry}}The two Rajya Sabha seats are also falling vacant. Misa Bharti of RJD, currently a Rajya Sabha member, has been elected as MP from Patliputra while another RS member, Vivek Thakur of BJP, has been elected as Nawada MP to the Lok Sabha.
{{/usCountry}}The two Rajya Sabha seats are also falling vacant. Misa Bharti of RJD, currently a Rajya Sabha member, has been elected as MP from Patliputra while another RS member, Vivek Thakur of BJP, has been elected as Nawada MP to the Lok Sabha.
{{/usCountry}}“The Election Commission has already issued a notification publishing names of newly elected MPs on June 6. In this case, all MLAs and Rajya Sabha members or MLC, who have been elected as MP to the new Lok Sabha, would have to relinquish the membership of their respective houses within 20 days, as per provisions,” said a senior official in the state assembly.
{{/usCountry}}“The Election Commission has already issued a notification publishing names of newly elected MPs on June 6. In this case, all MLAs and Rajya Sabha members or MLC, who have been elected as MP to the new Lok Sabha, would have to relinquish the membership of their respective houses within 20 days, as per provisions,” said a senior official in the state assembly.
{{/usCountry}}Currently, NDA has a slender majority in the 243-member Bihar assembly.
The alliance government in Bihar, led by chief minister Nitish Kumar, had won trust vote on February 12 this year with 129 votes in favour, against 112 polled by the RJD-led opposition alliance. The trust vote was sought after CM Kumar switched sides to realign with the BJP-led NDA on January 28 this year after snapping ties with the RJD-led alliance.
“For both the alliances, the five assembly seats would be crucial for judging people’s mood ahead of the next year’s assembly polls,” said Rakesh Tiwary, a political observer.
RS bypolls
In the bypolls for the two Rajya Sabha seats, NDA has a clear advantage, which means the RJD, which currently has six members in the Upper House of the Parliament, will lose one seat. Misa Bharti was elected in 2022 for a six-year term, which expires in 2028. So the new incumbent will have a four-year term.
Vivek Thakur’s term in the Rajya Sabha is due to expire on April 9, 2026, which means the new incumbent to the seat will have a term less than two years.
Chairman of Legislative Council
The ruling NDA has a majority in the state legislative council of 75 seats. JD-U has 22 MLCs and BJP 24. It remains to be seen which party stakes claim for the post.
