The Congress party late Wednesday night unilaterally began announcing its candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, even as negotiations with its key Mahagathbandhan ally, the RJD, remain unresolved.
The party's Bihar unit began revealing its nominees via its official X handle, bypassing a traditional official list and instead posting photos of candidates receiving their nomination certificates.
The initial list announced on social media includes several prominent and key constituency candidates: Rajesh Ram, the Bihar Congress state president, has been fielded from the Kutumba assembly constituency.
Shashi Shekhar Singh is set to contest from the Wazirganj seat. Kaushlendra Kumar, alias Chhote Mukhiya, was named the INDIA bloc candidate for Nalanda.
The party fielded Trishuldhari Singh from Barbeegha and Pratima Das from Rajapakad. Bihar Youth Congress state president Prakash Garib Das will contest from Bachhwada.
Other notable candidates include Vijendra Chaudhary (Muzaffarpur), Om Parkash Garg (Gopalganj), Amita Bhushan (Begusarai), and Anand Shekhar Singh (Aurangabad).
The Congress leadership is currently locked in talks with the RJD-led alliance partners, having previously insisted on a higher number of seats (reportedly aiming for over 60) than the RJD has been willing to allocate.
The development comes as RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav filed his nomination from Raghopur assembly seat on Wednesday.
The last date for filing nominations for the first phase of polls is October 17, while that for the second phase is October 20.
State Congress President Rajesh Ram, after receiving his certificate, publicly thanked the party leadership for fielding him from Kutumba.