Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary called an NDA meeting at his residence on Friday evening with one job: settle a feud inside his own party before the MLC polls. He left without a truce, with a defiant party MLA, and with three alliance MLAs who never showed up. If this is unity in Bihar’s ruling alliance, the opposition in Patna must be smiling.
The fight is over elections to eight Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituencies of the Bihar Legislative Council: low-profile polls with a niche electorate that have become a test of who really controls the JD(U) on the ground.
A Friday evening that settled nothing
The meeting’s purpose was clear: end the open hostility between Mokama MLA Anant Singh and MLC Neeraj Kumar before it damages the alliance’s campaign. Neeraj Kumar seeks a fourth term from the Patna Graduates’ constituency. Anant Singh, considered close to former JD(U) national president Lalan Singh, is instead backing Jan Suraaj Party candidate Anuj Singh, and campaigning for him with full force.
Anant Singh has been publicly targeting Neeraj Kumar, his long-time rival, even after reportedly assuring Lalan Singh he would not attack the JD(U) candidate. Before Friday’s meeting he played the gathering down, telling reporters it had not been called to discuss the elections and that its agenda had not been shared with him.
Asked whether he would reconsider, he refused to budge. His stand, he said, was unchanged: he will keep backing Anuj Singh.
That left Choudhary with little to work with. His message after the meeting was unusually blunt: stern action will be taken against anyone working against the alliance’s candidates. No names were taken, but everyone in Patna knew who the warning was aimed at.
Why these MLC seats matter so much
Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituency polls are easy to dismiss as insider baseball. The electorate is tiny. But these seats carry outsized political weight in Bihar, and everyone in Patna knows it.
- They test alliance discipline. When a party’s own MLA campaigns against its candidate, rivals read it as weakness and act on it.
- The timing is delicate. Choudhary’s government is brand new, with a 32-member cabinet sworn in only days ago. A public feud this early dents that show of strength.
- They expose real power centres. Anant Singh’s defiance shows formal posts do not always decide who calls the shots in a district. The feud with Neeraj Kumar is old, personal and public.
- They hand Jan Suraaj an opening. With the JD(U) split, the party can play spoiler, or even kingmaker, in a seat the ruling alliance should have held easily.
The RLM no-show: a second headache
As if the JD(U) infighting were not enough, Friday’s meeting had a glaring absence. Three MLAs of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, led by former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha, simply stayed away from the chief minister’s residence. In coalition politics, skipping a meeting called by the CM is rarely an accident. It is a message.
The RLM did get a berth in the recent cabinet expansion, with Kushwaha’s son Deepak Prakash sworn in as minister. But a ministry does not buy contentment, and the empty chairs suggest the smaller ally wants a bigger say.
Taken together, the picture is uncomfortable for the NDA: a JD(U) MLA openly working against the alliance’s candidate, and an ally signalling displeasure by staying home. Neither is fatal alone. Both landing on the same evening is the kind of coincidence that keeps political managers awake.
What to watch in the coming days
- Will Choudhary act on his warning? If “stern action” stays just words, it becomes proof the CM cannot enforce discipline. If he moves against Anant Singh, he risks turning a local feud into a statewide rebellion.
- Does the RLM fall in line? One missed meeting can be explained away. A pattern cannot. Watch the next coordination meeting, and who attends it.
- How does Jan Suraaj play this? It has a ready narrative: the old parties fight among themselves while it offers something new. Expect that contrast to dominate its campaign in the Graduates’ seats.
- What does Delhi think? The BJP holds the largest share of the new cabinet. If the alliance looks shaky, pressure to intervene will grow, and Delhi’s interventions rarely leave Patna unchanged.
FAQs
What are the Bihar MLC polls about?
Polls for eight Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituencies of the Bihar Legislative Council. Only registered graduates and teachers can vote in these seats.
Who is fighting over the Patna Graduates’ seat?
JD(U)’s Neeraj Kumar wants a fourth term, but party colleague Anant Singh is campaigning for Jan Suraaj’s Anuj Singh instead.
Why did the RLM MLAs skip the NDA meeting?
No official reason was given. In alliance politics, such absences are read as a signal of dissatisfaction with how the coalition is run.
What did the Bihar CM say after the meeting?
Choudhary warned of stern action against anyone working against the alliance’s candidates in the MLC elections.
The MLC polls involve a small electorate, but the politics around them is anything but small. A chief minister unable to settle a feud in his own party, with allies skipping his meetings, makes for a rough start to any government. The NDA insists it is united. Friday evening suggested the claim needs better evidence.
