Patna, October 24. The teachers showed up. The graduates, mostly, did not. That was the clearest message from Friday’s polling for eight Bihar Legislative Council seats, where voting closed at 4 pm after a day of long queues, a couple of minor scuffles, and some very sharp political sparring.
By the time booths emptied on Friday evening, one trend stood out above everything else. In the four teachers’ constituencies, voting touched 74.55 percent. In the four graduates’ constituencies, it barely crossed 43.87 percent. The counting of votes is scheduled for October 27, and with 150 candidates in the fray, all eyes are now on what the numbers mean for the state’s political equations.
The numbers that matter
According to data shared by the Election Commission, the turnout gap between the two types of constituencies was striking. Here is how the day played out:
- Teachers’ seats: Saran led the chart at 87.16 percent, followed by Darbhanga at 79 percent, Tirhut at 78.10 percent, and Patna at 56.89 percent.
- Graduates’ seats: Kosi recorded the highest at 52.51 percent, followed by Tirhut at 42.15 percent, Darbhanga at 42 percent, and Patna at the bottom with just 36.19 percent.
- Overall turnout: 74.55 percent for teachers’ seats, 43.87 percent for graduates’ seats.
- Scale of the exercise: around 5.32 lakh eligible voters, 150 candidates, and 933 polling booths. Voting was held from 8 am to 4 pm.
The Patna Graduates’ seat, despite dominating the pre-poll chatter, recorded the lowest turnout of all.
Tejashwi’s charge: “vote theft”
The day’s loudest voice belonged to RJD leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav. Speaking to reporters after voting wrapped up, he accused the state administration of working in favour of the ruling party’s candidates and alleged that “vote theft” was being orchestrated through bogus voting.
“You are continuously seeing that the administration is working in favour of the ruling party’s candidates, and these people are vote thieves; they orchestrate vote theft. They cast fake votes, but this time their tactics won’t work,” Tejashwi said, asserting that voters had rejected the ruling dispensation and that the opposition would win all eight seats.
Earlier in the day, RJD’s Patna Teachers’ constituency candidate, Sanjeev Kumar Singh, made his own allegation: he said police had come to his residence during the polling to conduct a search without a warrant, and described it as an attempt to intimidate a candidate mid-election. These allegations have not been independently verified.
The Patna seat’s family feud
No seat produced more drama than Patna Graduates, where a rift inside the ruling JD(U) played out in the open. Mokama MLA Anant Singh, a JD(U) legislator, publicly backed Jan Suraaj candidate Anuj Kumar Singh against his own party’s nominee, Neeraj Kumar, the JD(U)’s chief spokesperson and a former minister who is seeking a fourth consecutive term.
The personal feud between the two leaders turned physical at one point, with supporters of Anant Singh and Neeraj Kumar clashing in Mokama. Police intervened and detained several people, including the Mokama MLA’s close aide Chhotu Singh, who was picked up in Patna for allegedly disrupting peace and order. The RJD has fielded Dilip Kumar in the seat, while the Congress has nominated Asadullah Khan, making it a four-cornered fight.
On the other side of the Patna contests, incumbent BJP MLC Naval Kishore Yadav exuded confidence about retaining the Patna Teachers’ seat, which he has held for five consecutive terms over 30 years. After casting his vote, he predicted a decisive win and claimed his opponents would lose their security deposits.
What the Election Commission said
Bihar’s chief electoral officer, Vinod Singh Gunjiyal, said polling was conducted peacefully at all designated centres. The control rooms received 13 complaints during the day, all of which were disposed of in time, officials said.
There were small flashes of tension. A minor altercation was reported at a booth in Muzaffarpur district, where independent candidate Bhushan Jha was asked to leave. Apart from these, officials described the day as largely orderly.
Why this election is bigger than eight seats
Eight council seats may sound modest, but the contest carries outsized weight. The NDA, the opposition Mahagathbandhan, and Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj are all treating the result as a read on the mood of Bihar’s educated electorate. The JD(U)’s internal rift, the Congress-RJD friendly contests in four seats, and Tejashwi Yadav’s allegations have raised the temperature ahead of counting.
The sealed boxes sit and wait. Tuesday will tell the story.
FAQs
Q1. How many seats went to polls in the Bihar MLC elections?
Eight: four graduates’ constituencies (Patna, Tirhut, Darbhanga, Kosi) and four teachers’ constituencies (Patna, Saran, Tirhut, Darbhanga).
Q2. What was the voter turnout?
74.55 percent in the teachers’ constituencies and 43.87 percent in the graduates’ constituencies.
Q3. When will the Bihar MLC results be declared?
Counting of votes is scheduled for October 27, 2026. The full election process concludes by October 31.
Q4. Who alleged irregularities in the polls?
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav accused the administration of bias and alleged “vote theft” through bogus voting. The allegations have not been independently verified.
Q5. Which seat saw the most controversy?
Patna Graduates, where JD(U) MLA Anant Singh backed a Jan Suraaj candidate against his own party’s Neeraj Kumar.
Informeia will update this story when counting begins on October 27.
