Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is set to file his nomination papers on Tuesday to secure re-election as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC).
Since assuming office in 2005, Nitish has served as a member of the Upper House of the legislature.
The chief minister will formally submit his nomination papers at the Assembly. His party, Janata Dal United (JDU), has also chosen to nominate the incumbent MLC Khalid Anwar as the second candidate.
"Our party can secure only two MLC seats based on our numerical strength of 45 MLAs," said a senior JDU official.
A total of 11 MLCs from various parties are nearing the end of their six-year terms on May 6 this year. Among them are Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad's wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi.
Other parties are yet to announce their candidates for the upcoming elections.
The EC issued the notification for the biennial elections to the legislative councils of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh on Monday, setting March 11 as the deadline for nominations. If the number of candidates exceeds the vacant seats, the poll is scheduled for March 21, with the counting of votes taking place on the same day.
Six states — Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar — have bicameral legislatures, consisting of both legislative assemblies and councils.
