All four NDA candidates file nomination papers for Bihar council polls

Voting for the seven seats, if required, will take place on June 20.Notably, there was some consternation in the RJD-led opposition camp after a rebel Congress candidate Pradyumn Yadav collected nomination papers on Wednesday announcing that he will contest as an Independent.Thursday morning, a meeting of the Congress legislature party led to furious speculations.

All four candidates of the ruling NDA in Bihar, two each from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and BJP, filed their nomination papers on Thursday for biennial elections to the state legislative council.

The candidates - Afaque Ahmed and Ravindra Singh from JDU, and BJP's Hari Sahni and Anil Sharma filed their nomination papers at the Vidhan Sabha premises here in presence of the Chief Minister, Union minister Nityanand Rai and Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi, among others.

All four NDA candidates filed their nomination papers on the final date. The main opposition RJD has fielded three candidates in all.

The last date for withdrawal of nomination papers is on Monday, January 13. Voting for the seven seats, if required, will take place on June 20.

Notably, there was some consternation in the RJD-led opposition camp after a rebel Congress candidate Pradyumn Yadav collected nomination papers on Wednesday announcing that he will contest as an Independent.

Thursday morning, a meeting of the Congress legislature party led to furious speculations. The Congress had contested the 2020 assembly polls in alliance with the RJD but had broken away last year.

CLP leader Ajeet Sharma, however, asserted “the meeting had nothing to do with the council elections. The meeting was called to discuss the Congress' strategy for the assembly's monsoon session beginning June 24”.

He also said that the party, which has 19 MLAs, has taken no decision as to whom to support in council polls and will do “as directed by high command”.

Sharma also cryptically said that Pradyumn Yadav “is not an official candidate of the party. Though any member is free to file nomination papers as an Independent”.

However, Yadav ultimately did not turn up to file his nomination papers.