Bihar polls: Saran teachers' constituency leads with 13.56% turnout in first two hours

Polling for the biennial elections to eight Bihar Legislative Council seats recorded brisk turnout in the first two hours on Friday, with the Saran Teachers' constituency registering the highest polling percentage at 13.56%, followed by Patna Teachers' at 12.88%.

As many as 5.32 lakh voters were eligible to decide the fate of 150 candidates contesting the eight seats.

According to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Darbhanga recorded the highest turnout among the Graduates' constituencies at 8%, followed by Patna at 5.5%, Kosi at 5.14% and Tirhut at 4.81%.

Among the Teachers' constituencies, Saran recorded the highest turnout, followed by Patna. Darbhanga registered 12%, while Tirhut recorded 5.88%. The average turnout stood at 5.86% across the Graduates' constituencies and 11.08% across the Teachers' constituencies.

Polling began at 8 am and is scheduled to continue until 4 pm. The combined electorate comprises 5,32,847 voters, including 1,46,611 women and 37 third-gender voters, across 933 polling stations. Counting will take place on 27 October.

"Polling has so far been peaceful," an official said.

The contest in the Patna Graduates' constituency has attracted particular attention following a rift within the Janata Dal (United), with Mokama MLA Anant Singh backing Jan Suraaj Party candidate Anuj Singh against his own party's nominee, Neeraj Kumar.

Kumar, a former minister and close aide of former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, is seeking a fourth consecutive term from the constituency. Anant Singh has extended his support to Anuj Singh, alleging that Neeraj Kumar worked against him during last year's Assembly elections.

"People are the real masters. It is for them to decide the fate of candidates. I am confident that Anuj Singh will win the election with a massive mandate," Singh told reporters.

.PK, independent candidates make Bihar poll fray intense.

Commenting on Nitish Kumar's brief meeting with Neeraj Kumar on Thursday, Singh said the JD(U) chief "goes wherever they take him".

Singh and Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor have repeatedly claimed that Neeraj Kumar does not enjoy the support of the party chief.

Meanwhile, JD(U) leader Shyam Rajak, whose party is a key constituent of the ruling alliance, said polling was proceeding smoothly and claimed that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was enjoying a wave of support.

Besides Patna Graduates, polling is being held in Darbhanga Graduates, Tirhut Graduates, Kosi Graduates, Patna Teachers, Darbhanga Teachers, Tirhut Teachers and Saran Teachers.

One of the early voters in the Patna Teachers' constituency, Murli Manohar Srivastava, told PTI Videos that the concerns of teachers working in unaided schools were a major issue in the election.

"The biggest issue this time is that of teachers working in unaided schools who do not receive proper government financial assistance. Our long-standing demand has been for a formal pay scale, pension and social security. We have been making sustained and strong appeals for it to be fulfilled," he said.

The 1981 Non-Funded Education Policy was modified by the Nitish Kumar-led government in 2008 to introduce a performance-based grant system. Under this arrangement, the Bihar government provides grants after the declaration of results to private or community-run educational institutions that largely depend on students' fees for their upkeep.

However, staff employed by these institutions do not receive a regular pay scale, resulting in income insecurity.

Srivastava said Nawal Kishor Yadav had consistently raised the issue and had even secured an announcement from the government led by Samrat Choudhary. Yadav, the BJP candidate from the Patna Teachers' constituency, has held the seat continuously for the past 30 years.

The terms of the sitting MLCs are due to expire on 16 November.

The BJP has fielded candidates in four constituencies, with three sitting MLCs seeking re-election, while the JD(U) has nominated candidates for the remaining four seats.

Besides Nawal Kishor Yadav, the BJP's other candidates include NK Yadav and Sarvesh Kumar, who are seeking re-election from the Kosi Graduates' and Tirhut Graduates' constituencies, respectively.

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The party has also fielded Narendra Kumar Singh from the Tirhut Teachers' constituency, currently represented by Sanjay Kumar Singh of the Communist Party of India (CPI), a constituent of the opposition INDIA bloc.

The Jan Suraaj Party, led by Prashant Kishor, is contesting all eight seats. The party revised its candidate list following its initial announcement, replacing Bhushan Jha with Shyam Nandan Yadav in Tirhut Teachers and Ravindra Yadav with Mohammad Imtiyaz (Noorani) in Darbhanga Graduates.

To be eligible to vote in a Graduates' constituency, a person must hold a graduate degree from a recognised Indian university for at least three years and reside in the constituency concerned.

For the Teachers' constituencies, eligible voters must have at least three years of teaching experience in secondary schools, colleges or universities. In both categories, voters must be registered on the electoral rolls prepared for the respective constituencies.