BJP releases first list of candidates for Bihar Assembly polls
What's the story
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released its first list of 71 candidates for the Bihar Assembly polls, amid ongoing tensions within the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over the seat-sharing agreement. The list includes both Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Sinha. While Chaudhary was fielded from Tarapur, Sinha will contest from Lakhisarai. The list also features state ministers Nitin Nabin, who will contest from Bankipur, and Renu Devi, who will contest from Bettiah.
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Check out the list here
BJP releases first list of 71 candidates for Bihar Assebly elections. Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary to contest from Tarapur, Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha from Lakhisarai, State Minister Nitin Nabin from Bankipur and Renu Devi to contest from Bettiah. pic.twitter.com/brXr2q2Ym7
— ANI (@ANI) October 14, 2025
Alliance unity
NDA finalizes seat-sharing
Surprisingly, Assembly Speaker Nand Kishor Yadav's name is missing from the first list. As per the seat-sharing arrangement, both the JD(U) and BJP will contest 101 of the 243 seats each. Union minister Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has been allotted 29 seats. Meanwhile, Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha and Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha each got six seats in this arrangement.
Protest
Protests over seat-sharing arrangement
Unhappy over the seat-sharing arrangement, several leaders and workers of the Janata Dal (United) protested outside the CM's residence earlier. Former legislator Gopal Mandal, who is on his fourth consecutive term from Bhagalpur's Gopalpur seat, was among those who sat on a dharna outside the CM's residence. Another JD(U) leader and sitting MLA from Bhagalpur, Ajay Mandal, submitted his resignation letter to Kumar. He was unhappy with the candidate selection process for the Assembly elections.
Ongoing negotiations
Grand Alliance still in talks over seat-sharing
Meanwhile, the Grand Alliance is still in talks over seat-sharing. Congress state president Rajesh Ram said a decision has been finalized and will be announced soon. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Sanjay Yadav also confirmed that the deadlock over ticket distribution has been resolved. The 243 Assembly seats will be contested in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with results declared on November 14.