RJD-backed Anil Kumar Jha secured victory after a late surge in second-preference votes overturned the BJP candidate’s lead.
In a dramatic electoral turnaround in Bihar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has wrested the Darbhanga Graduates’ constituency seat in the Legislative Council from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with candidate Anil Kumar Jha defeating sitting MLC Sarvesh Kumar after a crucial shift in preferential votes during the final stages of counting.
The result, declared on Thursday after nearly 60 hours of counting, came as a major setback for the BJP, which had initially appeared comfortably placed to retain the seat. Jha secured victory after a late surge in second-preference votes overturned the BJP candidate’s lead.
Jha was declared elected with a lead of 533 votes at the end of the 39th round, following the elimination of 38 candidates.
How RJD Turned The Tables On BJP
The contest involved 40 candidates, with polling held on October 23. BJP’s Sarvesh Kumar maintained his advantage through the initial rounds of counting, keeping the RJD candidate behind.
The turning point came in the 39th round when Jan Suraaj Party candidate Mohammad Imtiaz Noorani, who had emerged as the third-leading candidate, was eliminated.
Until the end of the 38th round, Kumar had secured 20,033 votes against Jha’s 19,029, maintaining a lead of 1,004 votes. However, the transfer of preferential votes dramatically changed the equation.
According to reports, 2,900 transferable votes from Noorani’s supporters went to Jha, while Kumar received 1,363. This gave the RJD candidate the decisive advantage and pushed him ahead in the final count.
The outcome also highlighted the importance of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system used in Legislative Council elections.
What Is The Single Transferable Vote System?
Unlike conventional elections, where voters select one candidate, the STV system allows them to rank candidates according to their preferences. Voters mark their first, second and subsequent choices on the ballot.
A candidate must secure a prescribed quota to win. When no candidate reaches that threshold through first-preference votes, those with the lowest tallies are eliminated successively, and their votes are transferred according to the next available preference.
In Darbhanga, these transfers proved decisive, allowing Jha to overcome the BJP’s initial advantage.