Patna: Two new faces are set to go to the Bihar Legislative Council. RJD sources said former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's son Santosh Kumar Suman and RJD leader from Nalanda, Khurshid Mohisin are going to the Council. Senior leader and RJD state president Ram Chandra Purbey, who has been an MLC before, is also among the hopefuls.

Former chief minister Rabri Devi, whose term ends on May 5, will retain her seat. Two Council seats are vacant while the term of nine members, including chief minister Nitish Kumar, deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, health minister Mangal Pandey and leader of the Opposition in the Council, Rabri Devi, ends by May 5.

All these seats are in Assembly constituency category, so the candidates will have to be elected by members of the Assembly. Requesting anonymity, a senior RJD leader told The Telegraph: "The RJD can easily win four Council seats on the basis of 80 seats in the Assembly and surplus vote of the Congress, HAMS and CPI. Four names are confirmed: Santosh Kumar Suman, Ram Chandra Purbey, Khurshid Mohisin and Rabri Devi.

The nine seats that are vacant are represented by chief minister Nitish Kumar, Sanjay Singh, Upendra Prasad, Chandeshwar Prasad Chandravanshi and Raj Kishore Singh Kushwaha of the JDU, Sushil Kumar Modi, Mangal Pandey and Lalbabu Prasad of BJP and Rabri Devi of RJD.

Two seats fell vacant in January 2016 after BJP MLC Satyendra Narain Singh Kushwaha died while another JDU MLC, Narendra Singh, was disqualified under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.

A person requires the vote of at least 21 MLAs to win one Council seat.

As things stand, the RJD has 80 MLAs, JDU 70, Congress 27, BJP 53, LJP 2, HAMS 1, CPI 3, RLSP 2, Independents 4 and vacant one.

The choice of Purbey for the Council seats seems to be a good move because he has served as MLC for 14 years, from 1986 to 2000, and has twice been MLA from Sonbarsa.

He has served as minister in five departments, including HRD, minor irrigation, transport, planning and development and parliamentary affairs under Lalu Prasad.

Purbey, however, faced defeat in the last two Assembly polls, contesting from Parihar seat in Sitamarhi district.

Among three RJD candidates, two are from OBC and one is a Dalit.

RJD sources said the fourth RJD candidate would be from the economic backward classes (EBCs).

The RJD sending Manjhi's son to the Council is part of a promise RJD chief Lalu Prasad had made.

"When Manjhi ji joined the RJD camp, he had set this condition, that his son get a Council ticket," said a senior RJD leader.