India

Darbhanga Graduates’ MLC Result Declared After 57‑Hour Count

By Ruchir Kumar

The counting of votes for the Darbhanga Graduates’ constituency in the Bihar Legislative Council elections stretched to 57 hours, with the Election Commission of India clearing the result at about 9 pm on Thursday, officials said. The three‑day exercise was the longest among the eight constituencies that went to polls on October 23. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Anil Kumar Jha defeated sitting BJP MLC Sarvesh Kumar by 4,010 votes, with Jha polling 25,406 votes against Kumar’s 21,396. Mohammad Imteyaz of the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) received 12,823 votes. No candidate secured the prescribed winning quota through first‑preference votes. The Darbhanga Graduates’ constituency had 40 candidates, the highest among the eight seats, and 63,820 valid votes. The winning quota was 31,911, calculated by dividing the total valid votes by two and adding one. Because no candidate reached the quota, the counting proceeded through an elimination process. Candidates were eliminated one by one, starting with the lowest tally, and their second‑preference votes were transferred to the remaining candidates. After 37 eliminations, the contest narrowed to BJP’s Sarvesh Kumar, RJD’s Anil Jha and JSP’s Mohammad Imteyaz. Imteyaz’s second‑preference votes were transferred to Jha and Kumar, giving Jha a 533‑vote lead over Kumar. Subsequent transfers of Kumar’s preference votes to Jha established Jha’s final margin of 4,010 votes. The lengthy count was partly due to the logistical challenge of handling ballots bearing 40 candidates. Officials had to mix the ballots to prevent booth‑wise identification, arrange them in bundles of 25 papers in 20 bundles for each of the 14 counting tables, and keep them in separate, secure containers. The constituency had 138 polling booths and 14 counting tables. The first nine hours after counting began at 8 am on October 27 were spent arranging the ballot papers. Each of the 10 counting rounds took an average of three hours, accounting for another 30 hours to clear valid votes before the elimination process began. The delay caused impatience and triggered protests by counting agents of political parties on the counting campus. The district administration arrested five people on Wednesday following the disturbance; they were released on personal bonds the same evening. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav alleged on Thursday that the Election Commission was attempting to secure a BJP victory despite the RJD candidate being ahead, claiming that 10 % of votes had been declared invalid and alleging irregularities during the 56 hours of counting. These allegations could not be independently verified. A Facebook post by another RJD MLC used abusive language against the district magistrate and called the EC corrupt, while crediting the RJD for an emphatic win. Jha, however, praised the district officials, saying, “Counting (of votes for MLC polls) is process‑driven, which usually takes an average 36‑40 hours. There was nothing unusual about it. Officials of the district administration cooperated and conducted it smoothly in a well coordinated manner.” The district magistrate said the process had taken a personal toll, adding, “I didn’t sleep for the last three days. It hurts when people run you down on social platforms, attributing motive and casting aspersions on your integrity due to the delay in counting and announcement of the result, without actually knowing the facts.” Of the 69,141 votes polled for the Darbhanga Graduates’ constituency, 5,321 were declared invalid, leaving 63,820 valid votes. The constituency, which has about 128,000 voters, recorded a turnout of 54.73 % on October 23.