Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Sep 29: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced candidates for the 2026 Legislative Council elections in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, covering graduate and teacher constituencies.
In Bihar, the BJP has fielded Naval Kishore Yadav from the Patna Teachers constituency, Dr NK Yadav from the Kosi Graduates constituency, Sarvesh Kumar from the Darbhanga Graduates constituency and Narendra Prasad Singh from the Tirhut Teachers constituency.
Naval Kishore Yadav, NK Yadav and Sarvesh Kumar are the sitting MLCs. Of the eight seats going to polls in Bihar, four are graduate constituencies and four are teachers constituencies. The BJP and its NDA ally Janata Dal (United) have divided the seats equally, with each contesting four constituencies.
The JD(U) has fielded Neeraj Kumar from the Patna Graduates constituency, Abhishek Jha from the Tirhut Graduates constituency, Anand Pushkar from the Saran Teachers constituency and Ghanshyam Rai from the Darbhanga Teachers constituency.
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has nominated Kedar Nath Singh from the Varanasi Graduates constituency, Dinesh Goel from the Meerut Graduates constituency, Ashok Kumar Rathore from the Allahabad-Jhansi Graduates constituency and Dr Pramod Mishra from the Varanasi Teachers constituency. The party has also announced Hari Kishore Tiwari among its nominees.
The Election Commission has announced elections for 11 Legislative Council seats in Uttar Pradesh. Polling for the MLC elections is scheduled for October 23, while voting for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in the state will take place on October 16. The last date for filing nominations for both elections is October 6.
Meanwhile, Prashant Kishore's Jan Suraaj Party has also announced candidates for all eight seats in Bihar and has reportedly changed its nominees for two constituencies.
The Patna Graduates constituency is expected to see a contest between JD(U) candidate Neeraj Kumar and Jan Suraaj nominee Dr Anuj Singh, who has received support from Anant Singh. Neeraj Kumar is the sitting MLC from the constituency.