PatnaOctober 15, 2025 02:46 PM IST
First published on: Oct 15, 2025 at 02:09 PM IST
A day after its allies BJP and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) announced their candidates, the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) on Wednesday released its first list of 57 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls.
The list, spanning across a cross-section of reserved and general seats, is a blend of sitting MLAs, senior ministers, new entrants and showcases some significant seat swaps within the NDA.
The party has retained 23 MLAs including Vijay Kumar Choudhary (Sarairanjan), Bijendra Prasad Yadav (Supaul), Shrawon Kumar (Nalanda), Maheshwar Hazari (Kalyanpur), and Kaushal Kishore (Rajgir) – all ministers in the current Nitish Kumar government.
Hazari is the current Deputy Speaker of the Assembly while Shrawon Kumar and Yadav are among the state’s senior-most ministers. Kaushal Kishore is a former Union Minister while Choudhary handles crucial portfolios in the state Cabinet.
The list also includes several new faces as well as former MLAs like Ishwar Mandal (Darbhanga Rural), Komal Singh (Gai Ghat), Sunil Kumar (Bhoj), Mahendra Ram (Rajapakar), Umesh Singh Kushwaha (Mahnar), and Chaviketa Mandal (Jamalpur).
Reflecting a shift in the party’s strategy and demography-driven selections, some seats have seen changes as compared to the 2020 contestants. Ashok Kumar and Binay Kumar Chaudhary have been dropped from their respective seats of Warisnagar and Benipur while leaders like Nikhil Mandal (Madhepura) and Manoj Kumar (Minapur) have also been replaced. New faces have been fielded from Sandesh and Jagdeeshpur, among others.
The list features four women – seen to be a core support base of women – and candidates for 12 of the 38 SC-reserved and one ST-reserved seat. Kavita Saha has been fielded from Madhepura while Asha Devi made the cut in Samastipur. Raveena Kushwaha and Komal Singh are the JD(U) candidates from Bibhutipur and Gai Ghat respectively.
The BJP has fielded Deputy CM and MLC Samrat Choudhary from Tarapur, a seat long-contested by the JD(U).
Chirag announces four names
Another NDA ally, the Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) announced its candidates for four constituencies, including for two SC-reserved seats.
While the party’s Bihar general secretary Sanjay Paswan has been nominated from the Bakhri(SC) seat, it’s student wing state president Seemant Mrinal has been fielded from Garkha(SC).
President of the LJP(RV) Parliamentary Board Hulash Pandey will be the party’s candidate from Brahmpur, while its Bihar state president Raju Tiwari will contest the Govindganj seat.