New DelhiOctober 18, 2025 07:15 AM IST
First published on: Oct 18, 2025 at 07:15 AM IST
For the BJP’s two chief allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Janata Dal (United) and Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vikas), one of the tests will be how much of the Muslim vote they manage to get. And yet, both parties have fielded fewer candidates from the minority community in this election. In the BJP list, like in 2020, there are no Muslims, who make up 17.7% of Bihar’s population.
The Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) claims to enjoy the support of 20% of the Muslim population in the state, but has fielded only four in its share of 101 seats: in Araria and Jokihat (Araria district), Amour (Kishanganj), and Chainpur (Kaimur). In 2020, the JD(U) had fielded 11 Muslims, but all of them lost. The party contested the 2015 election in alliance with the RJD, fielding six Muslims, of whom five were elected. In 2010, the JD(U) had fielded 14 Muslims, with six of them winning.
The LJP (RV), which has managed to bag 29 seats, has fielded only a single Muslim candidate: Mohd Malimuddin in Bahadurganj (Kishanganj). In 2020, when the party was undivided and contested 135 seats on its own following differences with the JD(U) on seat-sharing, it had fielded seven Muslims in Bajpatti and Belsand (Sitamarhi district), Thakurganj and Kochadhaman (Kishanganj), Mahishi (Saharsa), and Sheikhpura (in the district of the same name). The party, then the LJP, did not win any of these seats, ending the election with only one win.
In 2015, the LJP fielded three Muslims among the 42 candidates it got. It won two, but none of its candidates from the minority community won. Five years earlier, the LJP fielded 10 Muslims among the 75 seats in its share. Three of the party’s candidates won, two of them Muslim.
The other NDA constituents
Sources in the BJP said the party earlier considered fielding a Muslim candidate from a seat in Kishanganj, but later changed its mind. The party’s Muslim leaders said they would appeal to their community members to vote for the government’s welfare schemes and the improved law-and-order situation.
None of the other two NDA constituents, Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and Jitam Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), have fielded any Muslim candidates. While the RLM had contested 99 seats in the 2020 election in alliance with Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM, fielding five Muslims, Manjhi has not fielded Muslim candidates in the two Assembly elections his party has contested to date.
Claiming to have the support of Muslims from the backward classes, a party leader said, “Among the Muslims dominated seats, JD(U) gets at least 20% votes of the Muslim population.”
He blamed the defeats of its minority community candidates in 2020 on the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“The party lost some Muslim support in 2020 because of the alliance with the BJP and the NRC. Nitish Kumar’s personal reputation among Muslims will be tested in this election again because of the Waqf law issue (the JD-U supported the amendments to the law). This time, the party has fielded fewer Muslims because they are not winning. Why waste tickets? It does appear that the JD(U) is becoming like the BJP by ignoring Muslims in political representation,” said the JD(U) leader.
Muslim organisations, including the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, earlier warned the JD(U) and LJP (RV) about supporting the Waqf Act amendments in Parliament, saying they might feel its actual impact on the ground. Sources in the AIMPLB said community leaders would travel across the state in the next few weeks to campaign on the issue.
“In this election, the JD(U) is contesting 101 seats, fewer than before. So, we had to carefully balance representation across all social groups. The number of Muslim candidates reflects this overall adjustment, not any change in commitment. Nitish Kumar ji has consistently worked for the welfare of Muslims, from expanding the Minority Welfare Department’s budget manifold to supporting madrasa infrastructure and the fencing of graveyards. People from all communities are living in harmony. His commitment to inclusive development remains unwavering,” said JD(U) spokesperson Dr Sanjay Kumar.
LJP (RV) spokesperson A K Vajpayee also denied there was a deliberate strategy to not field Muslims. “The party is not maintaining distance from Muslims. We are committed to protecting Muslims and their issues. But we have a limited 29 seats to contest. So, the party gave a ticket to a Muslim from one seat we found winnable. Muslims will keep supporting the LJP (RV),” he said.