NDA announces MLC candidates; Nishant among JD(U) nominees

Patna: The JD(U) and BJP on Friday announced their candidates for the upcoming Bihar legislative council elections. While BJP named four candidates for four vacant seats, JD(U) announced three candidates for the biennial elections and one candidate for the byelection to the seat vacated by party president Nitish Kumar after he became a Rajya Sabha member in April.

Among the four JD(U) candidates is state health minister Nishant Kumar, the only son of Nitish Kumar.

The Election Commission has announced biennial elections to nine seats in the 75-member Bihar Legislative Council, along with a by-election for the seat vacated by Nitish. An elected legislative council member serves a six-year term, while the term of the seat vacated by Nitish will continue until 2030.

JD(U) has fielded Lalan Prasad for the by-election. An extremely backward class (EBC) leader from the Dhanuk community, Lalan is regarded by party leaders as a loyal associate of Nitish. State JD(U) president Umesh Kushwaha confirmed his candidature.

Lalan had earlier been fielded in a Legislative Council byelection last year following the expulsion of RJD MLC Sunil Kumar Singh for alleged misbehaviour with Nitish, who was then chief minister. Lalan had filed his nomination and emerged as the sole candidate, but the by-election was subsequently annulled after the Supreme Court set aside Sunil’s disqualification.

JD(U)’s remaining candidates include party spokesperson and women’s wing chief Bharti Mehta and Shivrani Devi Prajapati, a party worker from West Champaran. Bharti, who hails from Madhubani, belongs to the EBC Nonia community, while Shivrani belongs to the EBC Kumhar community. Along with Lalan, three of JD(U)’s four nominees come from EBC communities, while Nishant belongs to the backward class category.

Of the nine seats going to biennial polls, JD(U) had held four earlier. However, despite its Assembly strength increasing compared to six years ago, the party has opted to contest fewer seats. Political observers view the move as an attempt to accommodate NDA allies led by BJP, the single largest party in the Assembly with 89 MLAs.

BJP, which previously held two of the nine seats, is contesting four this time. Its candidates include national media co-in-charge Sanjay Mayukh, who is seeking a third term in the Council, and Bhojpuri actor Pawan Singh, who unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Karakat as an Independent. Mayukh belongs to the Kayastha community, while Pawan is a Rajput.

The other BJP candidates are grassroots workers Anil Thakur and Sheela Pandit, both from EBC communities. Anil belongs to the Nai community and Sheela to the Kumhar community.

Three of the nine seats are currently held by the RJD-Congress alliance, which is expected to contest fewer seats following its losses in the 2025 Assembly elections. Speculation continues over the remaining NDA nominee, with Deepak Prakash, a state minister and son of Rashtriya Lok Morcha president Upendra Kushwaha, among the names being discussed.

June 8 is the last date for filing nominations for both the biennial elections and the byelection.