PATNA: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday released its first list of 71 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, scheduled to be held on November 6 and 11. The list was released by the party’s Central Election Committee.
The BJP became the first among the NDA bloc to announce its candidates for the two-phase elections. The list includes several prominent leaders, including both Deputy Chief Ministers, Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha.
While Chaudhary has been fielded from Tarapur in Munger, Sinha will contest from the Lakhisarai Assembly constituency. Rajiv Kumar Singh of the JD(U) had won the Tarapur seat in a by-election held in 2021.
Out of the 71 candidates, nine are women. Bihar Legislative Assembly Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav’s name did not figure in the list. Yadav has been replaced by new candidate Ratnesh Kushwaha from Patna Saheb.
Health Minister Mangal Pandey, who is a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC), has also been fielded. He will contest the election from the Siwan Assembly constituency, which is his native district.
Ram Kripal Yadav, former MP from Patliputra, has been fielded from the Danapur Assembly seat. Ram Kripal, also a former Union Minister, had lost to RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s eldest daughter, Misa Bharti, in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
The list also includes Minister for Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Renu Devi from Bettiah, Gayatri Devi from Parihar, Neeraj Kumar Singh Bablu from Chhatapur, and Prem Kumar from Gaya.
The BJP has retained the Hisua seat, renominating Anil Kumar as its candidate. Former Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad will contest from Katihar, while Alok Ranjan Jha will fight from Saharsa.
Earlier in the day, Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal had said that the list of candidates would be released by Tuesday evening.
However, the JD(U) has expressed discontent over a few seats that have been allotted to the BJP and Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).
According to the seat-sharing deal, the BJP and JD(U) will contest 101 seats each. Chirag Paswan’s LJP (RV) has been allotted 29 seats, while Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM will contest six seats each.
The election for the 243-member Bihar Assembly will be held on November 6 and 11, with counting scheduled for November 14.