Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi filed their nomination papers on Friday for the March 29 biennial elections to the legislative council, setting the stage for their entry into the state legislature as required under the Constitution.

Kumar and Modi are currently members of the Lok Sabha and it is mandatory for them to be elected to the state legislature within six months of occupying their posts, in order to continue in office.

Former Information and Broadcasting minister Ravishanker Prasad of the Bharatiya Janata Party also filed his papers for the Rajya Sabha on Friday, the last day for filing nominations for the polls to be held for six Rajya Sabha seats from the state, simultaneously with the legislative council elections.

Others who filed nominations for the Rajya Sabha are: Mohammed Ali Anwar, Mahendra Sahni and Mahendra Prasad (all from the Janata Dal-United), Jabi Hussain and Rajniti Prasad (both from the Rashtriya Janata Dal).

Lok Janshakti Party vice-president Ranjan Prasad Yadav had also filed his papers for the RS on Thursday.

Apart from Kumar and Modi, those who filed nominations for the legislative council on Friday are: Ramashray Prasad Singh and Narendra Singh (both members of the Nitish Kumar cabinet) and former union minister Nagmani (all JD-U), Baleshwar Singh Bharti, Tarakant Jha (both BJP), Uday Narayan Rai and Bhim Singh (both RJD) and Chandan Bagchi (Congress).

Sanjay Singh, state LJP spokesman and a close aide of party president Ram Vilas Paswan, had filed his papers on Thursday.

The poll is being held for 11 legislative council seats, along with six of the Rajya Sabha.