This story is from May 30, 2016

BJP names second nominee for council

The BJP on Monday announced former MLA Vinod Narayan Jha as the party's second candidate for the legislative council election to be held on June 10.Arjun Sahani was named the first candidate.
BJP names second nominee for council

Patna: The BJP on Monday announced former MLA Vinod Narayan Jha as the party's second candidate for the legislative council election to be held on June 10. Arjun Sahani was named the first candidate.
Harendra Pratap and Kiran Ghai of the BJP are retiring from the council. It was Harendra's first and Ghai's second term. On Sunday, the party's parliamentary board had already announced Gopal Narayan Singh as its Rajya Sabha candidate.
Altogether seven council seats are falling vacant in July. Five of them have been jointly shared by the RJD and JD(U), keeping two each to themselves, and giving one to the Congress. If the parties concerned agree to amicably share the seats, the remaining two seats would go to the BJP, which is not in favour of election.
The RJD, however, has been itching to field its third candidate. If RJD chief Lalu Prasad sticks to his intention, it would force election. The RJD has 80 MLAs, JD(U) 71 and the Congress 27. The JD(U) has suspended its three MLAs and the RJD one. It puts their effective strength at 174.
If the election is held, Sahani is sure to get elected as the first candidate since the BJP-led NDA has 58 MLAs. The success of its second candidate would require the support of 31 MLAs, if the four suspended MLAs are allowed to vote. Otherwise, the support of only 30 MLAs is required.
The BJP, with 27 (or 28) surplus votes, would need the support of four Independent MLAs or floor crossing from other parties to get Jha elected.
Lalu's third candidate could win by dint of second preference votes, if the Independent MLAs prove to be slippery for the BJP. By all accounts, Lalu holds the key to the suspense as to how the election to the council seats would ultimately pan out.
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