Bihar CEO submits list of 243 newly elected MLAs to Governor

Two days after the Assembly elections results were announced, Bihar’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vinod Singh Gunjiyal handed over the list of 243 newly elected members of the state assembly to the Governor Arif Mohammad Khan at the Raj Bhavan in Patna on Sunday. The list included the names of all candidates, including 202 of NDA, 34 of Mahagathbandhan, along with lawmakers from AIMIM, Indian Inclusive Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India has lifted the model code of conduct from Bihar, six states and one union territory following the conduct of Assembly polls and by-elections. The Election Commission wrote a letter to the Cabinet Secretary, Government of India, and the Chief Secretaries of the respective states to inform them about the development.

The model code of conduct had come into force after the poll body announced the schedule for the Bihar Assembly polls and by-elections in eight Assembly constituencies spread over 6 states and one Union Territory. Assembly by-elections were held for eight seats spread over six states – Rajasthan, Telangana, Odisha, Punjab, Jharkhand, and Mizoram–and the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, on November 11.

Meanwhile,The process of government formation in Bihar picked up pace on Sunday as National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners began discussing the broad contours of a formula to distribute ministerial berths.The maximum number of cabinet berths is constitutionally capped at 15% of an assembly’s strength. Bihar, which has 243 assembly seats, can have up to 36 ministers, including the chief minister. The NDA swept to power in the recently held Bihar polls by winning 202 seats, with the BJP bagging 89 seats, JD(U) 85, LJP(RV) 19, HAM(S) 5 and RLM 4.