PATNA: The RJD-led opposition is likely to gain three seats and the BJP one seat, while ruling JD(U) is set to lose at least three seats in the forthcoming biennial election to 7 seats of the Bihar legislative council which will fall vacant on July 21 this year.
As seven MLCs, including Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) president and former minister Mukesh Sahani, are retiring on July 21, the Election Commission is expected to announce the schedule for the biennial election in the next two weeks. The seven MLCs will be elected from the Vidhan Sabha constituency. Those retiring include five members of JD(U), one of BJP (Arjun Sahni) and Mukesh Sahani from the VIP. The five retiring JD(U) MLCs are Md Qamar Alam, Gulam Rasool, Ranvijay Kumar Singh, C P Sinha, Rozina Nazish.
While Sahani and Rozina were elected in two separate byelection in January and September last year, respectively, the rest five members – Qamar, Gulam, Ranvijay, C P Sinha and Arjun were elected in July 2016.
Members of the state legislative assembly (MLAs) cast votes in the biennial election to elect the MLCs from the Vidhan Sabha constituencies. As per the existing provisions, first preferential votes of at least 31 MLAs will be required to elect one MLC from the Vidhan Sabha constituencies.
“As per the current party position in the state assembly, the NDA, with 127 MLAs, can win four seats, while the rest three will go in favour of the RJD-led opposition camp. Resultantly, the NDA camp will lose three seats. The NDA’s loss will be the opposition’s gain,” a Vidhan Sabha official familiar to the council election, told TOI on Tuesday.
Of the four seats the NDA camp is likely to win, two may go in favour of the BJP. Two seats, on the other, may go to the kitty of the JD(U), but not without the support of BJP. The JD(U) has only 45 MLAs. For winning two seats, it would have to borrow the votes of at least 17 MLAs from the BJP and Jitan Ram Manjhi-led HAM(S). If the BJP will not extend its support, it would be very difficult for the JD(U) to win its second seat. The BJP, with the strength of 77 MLAs, can easily win two seats. The saffron party may bargain for the third seat from the JD(U).
In the opposition camp, the RJD, with its 76 MLAs and support of 16 MLAs of Left parties and five of the AIMIM, can easily win three seats. “Our leadership has decided to offer one MLC seat to ally CPI-ML,” a senior RJD leader said on Tuesday.
