Bihar Minister Ram Kripal Yadav on Wednesday, 28 October acknowledged a mixed outcome for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Bihar Legislative Council (MLC) elections, stating that while JD(U) candidate Neeraj Kumar had secured the Patna Graduate constituency, the alliance had fallen short in the Teachers' constituency — a result he described as a matter of concern.

NDA's Mixed Scorecard

Speaking to reporters, Yadav said, 'Two Legislative Council elections were underway in Patna, one for the Graduate constituency and the other for Teachers. The results of both are almost in. In the Graduate constituency, the NDA candidate, Shri Neeraj Kumar, has practically won. However, in the Teacher constituency, Professor Nawal Kishor Yadav has fallen behind. I feel this should not have happened.'

Of the eight Graduate and Teachers' constituencies that went to polls, results had been declared in five by Wednesday evening, with counting still underway in the remaining three. The NDA, according to Bihar Legislative Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar, was leading overall but acknowledged the possibility of losing three seats.

Five-Term MLC's Defeat: What It Signals

The defeat of Professor Nawal Kishor Yadav — who had held the Teachers' seat for five consecutive terms — drew particular attention. Ram Kripal Yadav highlighted the professor's long record of advocacy for educators, saying, 'Nawal ji had been continuously fighting for teachers for five terms, making every possible effort to resolve their issues and firmly raising their voice from the government level up to universities. But perhaps success could not be achieved this time, even though people had elevated him up the ladder of success five times before.'

Yadav described the outcome as 'definitely a setback for all of us' and, notably, 'a setback for teachers as well' — framing the loss in terms of its impact on teacher representation rather than purely as a party reversal.

Declared Results Across Constituencies

Among the five constituencies where results were formally declared:

Independent candidate Dr Rahul Raj won the Saran Teachers' constituency. In the Patna Teachers' seat, Dr Sanjeev Kumar of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) emerged victorious — a gain for the opposition. JD(U) candidate Neeraj Kumar won the Patna Graduate constituency, while BJP candidate Narendra Singh secured the Tirhut Teachers' seat. Dr Suresh Prasad Rai of Jan Suraaj won from the Darbhanga Teachers' constituency.

NDA Leaders Seek Silver Lining

Speaker Prem Kumar sought to frame the overall result positively. 'In a democracy, the people are the ultimate decision-makers. Elections were held in eight Graduate and Teachers' constituencies, and the results are now coming in, with the NDA leading,' he said, adding that the alliance was 'confident of winning five seats.'

Minister Santosh Suman offered a comparative assessment: 'Last time, we had three seats, while this time we are winning four to five seats. One candidate supported by us, who was contesting as a rebel candidate, has also won from one seat. Overall, if we make a comparative assessment, our results are better than last time. However, we had expected more, so we will identify the reasons and try to improve.'

JD(U) National General Secretary Shyam Rajak urged caution, saying the party was still awaiting official results from some seats before drawing conclusions.

What Comes Next

With counting still ongoing in three constituencies, the final tally for the NDA and opposition parties is yet to be confirmed. The NDA's stated intent to 'review the reasons for possible defeats' signals an internal assessment is already underway — particularly relevant ahead of future state-level electoral contests in Bihar.