A ruckus broke out outside the Bankipur School counting centre in Patna on Tuesday as votes were being counted for eight seats of the Bihar Legislative Council, prompting police to intervene after questions were raised over files carried by a man at the site.

The man was seen carrying several files and had an identity card hanging around his neck. While claims were made that he was a government employee, the police had not confirmed his identity or official status.

The Jan Suraaj Party claimed that the files contained Form-16 documents and questioned why the papers were outside the counting centre instead of inside it. Police took control of the situation and began investigating the matter. The situation was under control at the time of reporting.

Counting Begins For Eight Bihar Legislative Council Seats

Counting for the eight seats began at 8 am on Tuesday under tight security arrangements, an official said. A total of 150 candidates are contesting the polls, with counting taking place at eight centres across Bihar.

The seats comprise four graduate constituencies and four teachers' constituencies. Of the 150 candidates, 90 are contesting from the graduate constituencies and 60 from the teachers' constituencies.

Polling for the teachers' constituencies recorded a turnout of 82.85 per cent on October 23, while the graduate constituencies saw a turnout of 53.42 per cent, according to a senior official from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Bihar.

The constituencies under counting are Patna, Darbhanga, Tirhut and Kosi graduate constituencies, along with the Patna, Darbhanga, Tirhut and Saran teachers' constituencies.

Where Is Counting Taking Place?

Counting arrangements have been made at the following locations:

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  Patna: Bankipur Government Girls Higher Secondary School.

  
  


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  Darbhanga: Sports Building-cum-Gymnasium for both constituencies.

  
  


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  Tirhut: Administrative building of the Muzaffarpur Institute of Technology (MIT) for both constituencies.

  
  


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  Kosi graduate constituency: Regional office of the Bihar School Examination Board in Purnea.

  
  


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  Saran teachers' constituency: SVN Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Saran.

  
  

BJP, JD(U) And Jan Suraaj In The Fray

The BJP has fielded candidates in four seats, while its ally, the Janata Dal (United), is contesting the remaining four. Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj Party is contesting all eight seats.

The terms of the eight sitting members of the Legislative Council are due to end on November 16. They include Neeraj Kumar from the Patna graduate constituency, Sarvesh Kumar from Darbhanga graduate, Bansidhar Brajwasi from Tirhut graduate and NK Yadav from Kosi graduate.

The outgoing members from the teachers' constituencies are Naval Kishore Yadav from Patna, Madan Mohan Jha from Darbhanga, Sanjay Kumar Singh from Tirhut and Afaq Ahmed from Saran.

Anant Singh's Support For Jan Suraaj Candidate Sparks JD(U) Row

The election campaign also saw a controversy within the JD(U) after Mokama MLA Anant Singh openly backed Jan Suraaj candidate Anuj Singh against sitting MLC Neeraj Kumar.

The party reportedly expelled Anant Singh and his wife, former MLA Neelam Devi, for six years on October 24 over alleged anti-party activities.

Jan Suraaj also replaced two candidates during the campaign. Shyam Nandan Yadav was fielded in place of Bhushan Jha in the Tirhut teachers' constituency, while Mohammad Imtiyaz, also known as Noorani, replaced Ravindra Yadav in the Darbhanga graduate constituency.