Bihar: Jan Suraaj Changes MLC Candidate for Darbhanga Graduates' Constituency

The Jan Suraaj Party, led by Prashant Kishor, has changed its candidate for the Darbhanga Graduates' constituency in the upcoming Bihar Legislative Council (MLC) election 2026. The party has withdrawn the candidature of Ravindra Yadav and announced Dr. Mohammad Imtiaz Noorani as its new candidate for the seat.

The decision comes as Jan Suraaj prepares to contest all eight Bihar Legislative Council seats scheduled for polling on October 23, 2026. The party had initially announced Ravindra Yadav as its candidate for the Darbhanga Graduates' constituency in its first list of candidates released earlier this month.

Dr. Mohammad Imtiaz Noorani, aged 49, is from Bisfi block in Madhubani district. According to reports, he is a doctor and businessman and has also been involved in social work. He will now contest the Darbhanga Graduates' constituency on the Jan Suraaj ticket.

The party has not publicly stated an official reason for withdrawing Ravindra Yadav's candidature. Yadav had joined Jan Suraaj shortly before being named as its candidate and had previously been associated with the Janata Dal (United), where he served as a state secretary. Reports have also mentioned unverified social-media discussions linking his name to an older cheating case; those reports have not been independently confirmed by an official investigating agency, so they should not be treated as established facts.

This is the second candidate change announced by Jan Suraaj during the 2026 Bihar MLC election process. Earlier, the party replaced Bhushan Jha with Shyam Nandan Yadav as its candidate for the Tirhut Teachers' constituency. In that case, Prashant Kishor publicly discussed the reasons for the change, while the party has so far not given a stated reason for the change in the Darbhanga Graduates' constituency.

The change places Dr. Mohammad Imtiaz Noorani at the centre of Jan Suraaj's campaign in the Darbhanga Graduates' constituency ahead of the October 23 MLC polling. The constituency-specific contest will now feature Noorani as the party's officially announced candidate, replacing Ravindra Yadav.