Patna, Oct 27 (IANS) Independent candidate Rahul Raj, a BJP rebel, has won the Saran Teachers’ constituency in the Bihar Legislative Council elections, defeating his nearest rival by more than 800 votes. The victory dealt a setback to the NDA, RJD and Jan Suraaj candidates in the constituency.
After the counting of second-preference votes, Rahul Raj has emerged victorious by 833 votes.
In his first reaction after winning the election, Rahul Raj stated that he had championed the cause of teachers, and in return, they had extended their support to him.
He expressed his gratitude to the teachers for this. He further pledged to raise their long-pending demands in the Legislative Council.
Rahul Raj, a resident of Chhapra, is a member of the BJP’s state executive committee and serves as the block pramukh of Revelganj. A teacher by profession, he is an associate professor at VIP College. He contested the election as an independent after rebelling against his party.
The NDA had fielded JD(U) candidate Anand Pushkar, while the RJD nominated Jayram Yadav. Jan Suraaj fielded incumbent MLC Afaq Ahmed.
However, Rahul Raj emerged victorious, defeating the candidates backed by the major political parties.
Meanwhile, results and trends are emerging from the counting of votes for eight Bihar Legislative Council seats, for which polling was held on October 23.
The constituencies include the Kosi Graduates’ seat and the Graduates’ and Teachers’ seats in Patna, Darbhanga and Tirhut, along with the Saran Teachers’ seat.
In the Tirhut Teachers’ constituency, NDA-backed BJP candidate Narendra Prasad Singh has secured victory, defeating CPI candidate Sanjay Singh by 594 votes.
Independent candidate Bhushan Jha finished second after the elimination rounds, while Sanjay Singh was pushed to third place.
In the Patna Teachers’ constituency, initial trends showed BJP candidate Nawal Kishore Yadav leading, while RJD candidate Sanjeev Kumar was trailing.
Counting was underway, and the margin could change as further rounds were completed.
The outcome in Patna Teachers’ and the remaining constituencies will depend on the completion of counting and official declarations by the respective returning officers.
–IANS
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