RJD Wrests Darbhanga Graduates’ Seat From BJP As Jan Suraaj Candidate’s Exit Turns Tables After 60-Hour Count
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has pulled off a major upset in Bihar's Legislative Council elections, defeating the BJP in the Darbhanga Graduates’ constituency after an intense counting process that stretched for nearly 60 hours. RJD candidate Anil Kumar Jha defeated sitting BJP MLC Sarvesh Kumar by 533 votes. The result was declared on Thursday after 39 rounds of counting, bringing an end to a closely fought contest involving 40 candidates. Polling for the constituency was held on October 23.
The victory marks a setback for the BJP, whose candidate had maintained the lead through most of the counting process.
Jan Suraaj Candidate's Elimination Turns The Contest
Sarvesh Kumar appeared to be heading towards victory until the final stages of counting. At the end of the 38th round, the BJP candidate had secured 20,033 votes, compared with 19,029 polled by Jha, giving him a lead of 1,004 votes.
The situation changed in the 39th round following the elimination of Mohammad Imtiaz Noorani of the Jan Suraaj Party, who was placed third.
According to reports, Jha received around 2,900 transferable votes from Noorani's supporters, while Kumar gained 1,363. The additional votes helped the RJD candidate overturn the deficit and secure the constituency by 533 votes.
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How The Single Transferable Vote System Works
The result highlighted the importance of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system followed in Legislative Council elections.
Under this method, voters rank candidates according to their preferences rather than selecting only one candidate. If no candidate reaches the required winning quota through first-preference votes, the candidate with the lowest tally is eliminated.
The votes secured by the eliminated candidate are then transferred to the next available preferences marked by voters. This process continues until a candidate meets the required quota.
In Darbhanga Graduates’, the transfer of votes following Noorani's elimination proved decisive in determining the winner.
BJP And RJD Finish With Two Seats Each
The results across the eight teachers' and graduates' constituencies have left the BJP and RJD with two seats each. The JD(U) and Jan Suraaj Party won one seat apiece, while Independents secured the remaining two.
BJP functionaries had indicated on Wednesday that Sarvesh Kumar had retained the seat. However, the prolonged counting process continued until Thursday evening, when Jha's victory was confirmed.
Kumar congratulated his opponent at the counting centre after the result became clear.
Tejashwi Yadav Calls Verdict A Mandate Against NDA
Reacting to the RJD's victory, party national working president Tejashwi Prasad Yadav described the outcome as a rejection of the NDA government's policies.
He said, "The result was the educated society’s open mandate against the NDA govt’s corruption, abuse of power, BJP’s repressive action against teachers and youth, and the NDA’s anti-people policies.”
This content is published by ABP Live - India and has not been created or edited by Hello Headlines. View original
