Patna: The electoral contest for the Saran Teachers’ constituency of the Bihar legislative council has turned into a high-stakes, multi-cornered fight ahead of the Oct 23 polls.Unlike the byelection triggered by the death of veteran teachers’ union functionary Kedar Nath Pandey, the full-term biennial election puts incumbent Independent MLC Aafaque Ahmad at the centre of a tougher, politically altered battle. Ahmad, who defeated Pandey’s son, Anand Pushkar, in 2023, is now contesting as the official nominee of Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj. Pushkar, who contested as a CPI candidate then, has switched sides and is now the NDA’s official nominee, fielded by the JD(U). The RJD has nominated Jairam Yadav for the opposition Mahagathbandhan.The entry of Ram Pukar Sinha, state general secretary and chief spokesperson of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), has complicated the NDA’s calculations. Sinha has secured open support from three of the RLM’s four MLAs — state president Alok Kumar Singh, Madhaw Anand and Rameshwar Mahto — giving his independent bid access to a significant organisational network. At his nomination, Sinha claimed nearly 70% of RLM district presidents were backing him, providing a grassroots network for his campaign.A political analyst said the constituency has a substantial base of teachers aligned with the RLM’s core Kushwaha social base. This could divert crucial first-preference votes from Pushkar, weakening his chances of reaching the victory quota early under the preferential voting system.Ahmad, meanwhile, is banking on incumbency and teachers’ grievances. “Our fight is to permanently resolve anomalies in the Teacher Recruitment Exam (TRE) and enforce the govt to implement the 7th Pay Commission scales to all categories of school teachers across the state,” a senior Jan Suraaj functionary said. Kishor has argued in campaign speeches that the pledge covers contractual (Niyojit), special school, guest and unaided school teachers.Pushkar retains the advantage of ruling-party machinery and a chance at redemption after his 2023 defeat. However, Sinha’s backing from RLM rebels threatens cross-voting within the NDA. “We are backing our workers’ choice to ensure genuine representation,” rebel RLM MLA Madhaw Anand said.Yadav is seeking to turn academics’ discontent with the state administration into support for the Mahagathbandhan while preventing votes from shifting to Jan Suraaj. In the fragmented contest, second-preference transfers could prove decisive, with counting scheduled for Oct 27.
