Patna: JD(U) leader Neeraj Kumar has won the Patna Graduates' constituency seat in the Bihar Legislative Council elections, defeating a field in which the Jan Suraaj Party's Anuj Singh was backed by Mokama MLA Anant Singh, who had campaigned openly against his own party's candidate, IANS reported on Wednesday.
Source: IANS via HiIndia
Speaking to IANS after his victory, Neeraj Kumar credited the NDA leadership for his win. "I credit this victory to Nitish Kumar, Nishant Kumar, Samrat Choudhary, Upendra Kushwaha, Jitan Ram Manjhi and Chirag Paswan. The celebration of victory is still to come," he said, thanking Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and former chief minister Nitish Kumar among others.
Source: IANS via HiIndia
A late tally reported during counting put Neeraj Kumar on 16,193 votes, ahead of RJD candidate Dilip Patel on 13,914 and Jan Suraaj's Anuj Singh on 10,921 — a lead of 2,279 votes at that stage. Counting in these preferential-vote council elections runs through first- and second-preference rounds, and Neeraj Kumar had told ANI earlier on Wednesday that he was leading in the first-preference count and expected the count to move to second preferences.
Source: Top Indian News
Anant Singh concedes, Neeraj Kumar hits back
Anant Singh accepted the defeat of the candidate he backed. "We didn't bring votes from a shop and weigh them out. The public is like God. If they give votes, a candidate wins; if they don't, the candidate loses," he said, according to IANS. Hindi reports said Anant Singh added that he had got little time to build his vote bank and that he would not congratulate Neeraj Kumar, saying his grievance was with Neeraj Kumar alone, not with the party.
Source: Bindash Bol News
Reacting to Anant Singh's remarks, Neeraj Kumar took an apparent swipe at him, saying, in IANS's rendering: "Let it be. As you sow, so shall you reap." The contest had drawn statewide attention because Anant Singh, a JD(U) MLA, publicly defied his party to back the Jan Suraaj candidate against the party's official nominee; Hindi reporting noted that Anant Singh and his wife had earlier been expelled from the JD(U) over the rebellion.
Source: SMTV
One of eight council seats decided this week
Polling for Bihar's eight Legislative Council seats — four Graduates' and four Teachers' constituencies in Patna, Darbhanga, Tirhut, Kosi and Saran — was held on October 23, with 150 candidates in the fray, and counting began on Tuesday. The terms of the sitting members from these eight constituencies expire on November 16, and the election process is to be completed by October 31, ANI reported.
Source: ANI via LatestLY
The Patna Graduates' result completes a dramatic pair of Patna verdicts: in the Patna Teachers' constituency, RJD's Dr Sanjeev Kumar defeated BJP veteran Nawal Kishore Yadav by 1,057 votes, ending his three-decade run on that seat, IANS reported.