PATNA/darbhanga, Oct. 30 -- The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) wrested the Darbhanga Graduates' constituency from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with Anil Kumar Jha defeating sitting MLC Sarvesh Kumar in a closely fought contest as counting for Bihar's eight Legislative Council seats ended on Thursday, the third day of the process. The Election Commission was yet to formally announce the Darbhanga result till the filing of this report at 8.15pm, even as the reported outcome pointed to a setback for the BJP and a gain for the RJD. The final tally across the eight seats stood at two each for the RJD, BJP and Independents, and one each for the Janata Dal (United) and Jan Suraaj Party (JSP). The polls, held on October 23, covered four Teachers' and four Graduates' constituencies. Turnout was significantly higher among teachers, at 82.85%, than among graduates, at 53.42%. The RJD won the Patna Teachers' seat through Dr Sanjeev Kumar and the Darbhanga Graduates' seat through Jha. The BJP secured the Tirhut Teachers' seat with Narendra Prasad Singh and the Kosi Graduates' seat with Dr Narendra Kumar Yadav. JD(U)'s Neeraj Kumar retained Patna Graduates', while JSP candidate Suresh Prasad Roy won Darbhanga Teachers', making a foray into the Bihar Legislative Council. Independents Rahul Raj and Banshidhar Brijvasi won the Saran Teachers' and Tirhut Graduates' seats, respectively. The Darbhanga Graduates' count stretched into a third day because no candidate secured the required winning figure of 31,911 votes in the first-preference count. Officials began eliminating candidates with the lowest vote totals and transferring their second-preference votes to the remaining contenders late on Wednesday. The last official update, issued by the district public relations office at 6.15pm on Wednesday, showed BJP candidate Sarvesh Kumar leading with 16,115 votes, followed by Jha with 14,615 and Jan Suraaj candidate Mohammad Imtiyaz with 10,227. The tally at that stage recorded 63,820 valid votes and 5,321 invalid votes. No fresh official trends were shared during Thursday's elimination rounds. The district administration had not responded to requests for an update by the time this report was filed. A WhatsApp text message to Darbhanga district magistrate Kaushal Kumar, seeking an update on the counting, did not elicit a response till the filing of this report. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav alleged on Thursday that the Election Commission was attempting to secure a BJP victory despite the RJD being ahead. In a post on X, he claimed that 10% of votes had been declared invalid and alleged irregularities during the 56 hours of counting. These allegations could not be independently verified. Jha said voters had supported him across social, caste and political divisions, citing his conduct and public work. He expected his victory margin to be substantial, pending formal declaration of the result. The RJD strengthened its position in the Bihar Legislative Council by winning two seats in the biennial polls, taking its tally from 15 to 17. The BJP and JD(U) retained their strength at 25 and 20 members, respectively. The NDA had won four seats in the 2020 polls, with the BJP securing the Kosi Graduates' seat through Narendra Kumar Yadav and the Patna Teachers' seat through Nawal Kishore Yadav. The JD(U) won the Patna Graduates' seat through Neeraj Kumar and the Tirhut Graduates' seat through Devesh Chandra Thakur, who later won the Lok Sabha election in June 2024. Independent candidate Banshidhar Brajvasi won the subsequent by-election in December 2024. The latest results brought gains and losses for several parties. The BJP offset the defeat of veteran Nawal Kishore Yadav, a five-time winner from the Patna Teachers' constituency, with Narendra Prasad Singh's victory in Tirhut Teachers'. The Congress's representation fell from two members to one after veteran Madan Mohan Jha lost the Darbhanga Teachers' seat. The CPI lost its sole representative in the Council after Sanjay Kumar Singh was defeated in Tirhut Teachers'. The number of Independents declined from seven to six following the defeat of Sarvesh Kumar, who had contested the 2020 election as an Independent. The Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) entered the Council with Suresh Prasad Rai's victory in Darbhanga Teachers', giving Prashant Kishor's party a foothold in the legislature beyond the Assembly. For the RJD, Sanjeev Kumar's victory in Patna Teachers' was particularly significant, ending the BJP's three-decade hold on the seat and demonstrating the opposition party's ability to challenge an entrenched stronghold. The 75-member Bihar Legislative Council, which includes 12 nominated members, now has 25 BJP members, 20 from the JD(U) and 17 from the RJD. The Congress, Rashtriya Lok Morcha, Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, CPI-ML (Liberation), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awami Morcha (Secular) and Jan Suraaj Party have one member each. Independents account for the remaining six seats....