Patna, Oct. 22 -- Over 5.32 lakh voters are set to decide the fate of 150 candidates in the Bihar Legislative Council elections on Friday, with JD(U) MLA Anant Kumar Singh's open rebellion against party nominee Neeraj Kumar dominating the headlines in the run-up to the polls.
Polling will be held for four Graduates and four Teachers constituencies from 8 am to 4 pm, with counting scheduled for October 27.
The combined electorate for the eight seats stands at 5,32,847, including 1,46,611 women and 37 third-gender voters.
Kumar, also a former minister, seeks to retain, for the fourth consecutive term, the Patna Graduates seat.
An old loyalist of party supremo and former chief minister Nitish Kumar, the MLC faces a tough fight this time
because of the open rebellion declared by Mokama MLA Singh.
Despite being a JD(U) legislator, Anant Singh has come out in support of Jan Suraaj Party candidate Anuj Singh, alleging that Neeraj Kumar had worked against him in last year's Assembly polls.
"I have no quarrels against anybody in the party. But, I must ensure that Neeraj loses his election and forfeits his deposit. He has spewed a lot of venom against me just to attract publicity," Anant Singh had recently said.
Meanwhile, Neeraj Kumar, was admitted to a hospital on October 19 following a sudden illness, party sources had said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.