Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is seeking re-election to the state legislative council, filed his nomination papers on Tuesday.
Kumar filed his nomination papers in the presence of a host of senior leaders of the ruling NDA, including his deputies Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, who belong to the BJP, and Rajiv Ranjan Singh "Lalan" whom he succeeded as the JD(U) national president.
Apart from Nitish Kumar of the Legislative Council, Khalid Anwar from JDU and Santosh Suman, son of Jitanram Manjhi from HAM, filed their nominations. Suman's father Jitan Ram Manjhi, a former chief minister who heads Hindustani Awam Morcha, was also present.
Kumar, the leader of JD(U), is set to contest for a fourth consecutive term in the Upper House, a position he first secured in 2006 shortly after assuming the role of chief minister.
His current term is due to end in May, but the recent announcement by the Election Commission for biennial polls for 11 seats of the Bihar Vidhan Parishad, including the one held by the CM, has prompted the move.
BJP to contest on 4 seats
Of the 11 seats, JD(U) currently holds four, the largest share among all parties. However, given the party's reduced strength in the assembly, it has agreed to cede two seats to its ally BJP, which has seen a numerical increase.
Although the BJP has yet to announce its candidates, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, also the party's state president, mentioned, "We will contest four seats and leave one for our partner Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM)."
HAM, led by former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, whose son Santosh Suman is a minister in the Nitish Kumar cabinet, has a legislative council term ending soon. In 2018, Suman won a seat with support from HAM's then ally RJD.
Among the seats up for election, two were held by the RJD's Rabri Devi, the current leader of the opposition in the legislative council, and Ram Chandra Purve, the deputy chairman of the Upper House. Another seat was held by Prem Chandra Mishra of the Congress.
Choudhary hinted, "Seven is the minimum number of seats that the NDA will contest. If the need arises, we may fight for more," amid speculation of more MLAs from the RJD and Congress joining the BJP.
Nominations close on March 11, with the withdrawal deadline on March 14, and voting scheduled for March 21.
(With PTI inputs)
