RJD Unveils Candidates for Bihar Assembly Elections Amid Alliance Uncertainty

RJD Announces Candidates for Bihar Elections

On Monday, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) disclosed its candidate list for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, nominating individuals for 143 out of the 243 available seats in the state.

Tejashwi Yadav, a prominent party figure, will run for election from his established base in Raghopur, located in Vaishali district.

The deadline for submitting nominations for the second and final phase of voting is set for Monday. The elections are scheduled to take place in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with the counting of votes planned for November 14.

The RJD's announcement comes amid ongoing discussions regarding seat-sharing arrangements within the Opposition Mahagathbandhan alliance.

This alliance includes the RJD, Congress, Vikassheel Insaan Party, three Left parties—Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Communist Party of India, and Communist Party of India (Marxist)—as well as the newly established Indian Inclusive Party.

Additionally, the Congress party has revealed seven more candidates, bringing its total to 61 for this election cycle. In the previous 2020 Assembly elections, Congress contested 70 seats.

Meanwhile, the three Left parties have collectively announced 20 candidates, as reported by a local media outlet.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, part of the INDIA bloc at the national level, has declared its intention to contest the Bihar Assembly elections independently, with plans to field candidates in six constituencies.

Recently, the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, led by Pashupati Kumar Paras, exited the INDIA bloc, citing feelings of betrayal during seat-sharing negotiations.

According to the seat-sharing agreement within the ruling National Democratic Alliance, both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (United) will contest 101 seats each.

The Lok Janshakti Party, under Chirag Paswan's leadership, has been allocated 29 seats, while the Rashtriya Lok Morcha and Hindustani Awam Morcha will each contest six seats.

In the previous Assembly elections held in 2020, both the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan secured an identical vote share of 37.2%.

However, the NDA managed to retain power in Bihar with a narrow majority, winning 125 out of 243 seats, while the Opposition secured 110 seats.

The RJD, led by Lalu Prasad Yadav, emerged as the largest party with 75 seats but ultimately did not win the election.