Counting begins for eight Bihar Legislative Council seats amid tight security

Vote counting for the biennial elections to eight seats in the Bihar Legislative Council began at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, a senior official from the chief electoral officer’s office said. The process will determine the outcome for 90 candidates contesting four graduates constituencies and 60 candidates in four teachers constituencies.

The October 23 polling recorded an 82.85% turnout in the teachers constituencies and a 53.42% turnout in the graduates seats. Eligible voters numbered 492,000 across the Patna, Darbhanga, Tirhut and Kosi graduates constituencies, while 40,253 voters were registered in the Patna, Darbhanga, Tirhut and Saran teachers seats.

Counting is being conducted at multiple locations: the Bihar School Examination Board’s regional office in Purnea for the Kosi graduates seat, SVN Rajkiya Kanya Uchcha Madhyamik Vidyalaya for the Saran teachers constituency, and the MIT administrative block in Muzaffarpur for both Tirhut seats. In Patna, counting started at Bankipur Government Girls' Senior Secondary School, and votes for two Darbhanga constituencies are being tallied at Khel Bhawan-cum-Vyayamshala Bhawan.

The terms of the eight incumbent MLCs are set to expire on November 16. The ruling BJP has fielded candidates for four seats, while its ally JD(U) is contesting the remaining four. The Jan Suraaj Party, led by Prashant Kishor, is contesting all eight seats. (With PTI inputs)