Bihar Assembly elections 2025: BJP announces first list of 71 candidates

Among sitting ministers, the BJP has fielded Nitin Nabin from Bankipur, Nitish Mishra from Jhanjharpur, Krishna Kumar Mantoo from Amnour, and Prem Kumar from Gaya Town

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday released its first list of 71 candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections, fielding Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha from Tarapur and Lakhisarai constituencies, respectively.

 

State Health Minister Mangal Pandey will contest from the Siwan seat, currently held by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Awadh Bihari Choudhary. Among other sitting ministers, the BJP has fielded Nitin Nabin from Bankipur, Nitish Mishra from Jhanjharpur, Krishna Kumar Mantoo from Amnour, and Prem Kumar from Gaya Town.

 

The list also features nine women candidates, including current Minister Renu Devi, who will seek re-election from the Bettiah Assembly constituency. Arjuna awardee and sitting MLA Shreyasi Singh will contest again from Jamui.

 

Former deputy chief minister Tarkishore Prasad will contest from Katihar, while Sanjay Sarogi will contest from Darbhanga. Other notable candidates include Kundan Kumar from Begusarai, Rohit Pandey from Bhagalpur, Kumar Pranay from Munger, and Ramkripal Yadav from Danapur.

 

 

The list comes two days after Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP's Bihar election in-charge, announced that the BJP and Janata Dal (United) will contest 101 seats each, while the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), led by Union Minister Chirag Paswan, will field candidates in 29 seats.

 

The development changes the dynamics in the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alliance in the state, where until now, JD(U) played the role of a senior partner. This follows JD(U) poor performance in the past few elections, including the 2020 Assembly elections, where it won 43 of the 115 seats it contested.

 

Moreover, the BJP’s vote share was also higher than the JD(U)’s in the 2020 polls.

  (With PTI inputs.)