Election of 45 Bihar MLAs, including Speaker Prem Kumar, challenged before HC

Patna, Feb 19 (PTI) Petitions have been filed in the Patna High Court, challenging the election of 45 members of the Bihar legislative assembly, including Speaker Prem Kumar, the counsel representing the poll panel said on Thursday.

Siddharth Prasad, who represents the Election Commission in the court, said the petitions have been filed by losing candidates from respective constituencies, and notices were being issued to respondents.

"Usually, no election petition is dismissed outright. Notices are sent to the respondents and orders are passed by the court after examining the material at hand," Prasad told PTI.

Replying to a query, he said, "Yes, there is a petition challenging the election of Prem Kumar from Gaya Town. But a notice has not been issued, so far, in his case." The petition challenging the election of Kumar, an eighth-term BJP MLA, has been filed by Akhauri Onkar Nath, who contested the seat as a Congress candidate but lost by more than 26,000 votes.

Prasad said, "Most of the election petitions have been filed citing alleged discrepancies in affidavits filed by the winning candidate concerned or other violations of the provisions of the Representation of the People Act." According to sources, prominent leaders whose election has been challenged include senior minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav and young MLA Chetan Anand, both JDU, and former minister Jibesh Mishra of the BJP.

At least one petition has been filed challenging the election of an MLA of the RJD, the main opposition party in the state.

The petition has challenged the election of Amarendra Kumar, who won the Goh seat by a slender margin of 4,041 votes. PTI