JD(U) Releases First List of 57 Candidates for Bihar Assembly Elections Amid NDA Seat-Sharing Tensions

Patna: Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United (JD(U)) announced its first list of 57 candidates for the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 on Wednesday, intensifying the ongoing seat-sharing tussle within the NDA. The announcement includes several senior leaders, sitting MLAs, and key faces contesting crucial constituencies.

Among the notable candidates are Ratnesh Sada (Sonbarsa), Vidyasagar Nishad (Morwa), Dhumal Singh (Ekma), and Kaushal Kishore (Rajgir). Sitting MLAs and ministers like Vijay Kumar Choudhary (Sarairanjan), Narendra Narayan Yadav (Alamnagar), Niranjan Kumar Mehta (Bihariganj), Ramesh Rishi Dev (Singheshwar), Kavita Saha (Madhepura), Gandeshwar Shah (Mahishi), and Atirek Kumar (Kusheshwarsthan) have also been fielded.

Other prominent names include Anant Kumar Singh (Mokama), Shyam Rajak (Phulwari), Maheshwar Hazari (Kalyanpur), Santosh Kumar Nirala (Rajpur), Madan Sahni (Bahadurpur), Shri Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha (Jagdishpur), and Komal Singh (Gaighat).

The JD(U) fielded candidates for five constituencies—Sonbarsa, Gaighat, Morwa, Rajgir, and Ekma—which were also sought by Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), adding to the tension within the alliance. Earlier, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) announced six candidates but threatened to contest against LJP-RV in Bodh Gaya and Makhdumpur over disputes in seat allocation.

Upendra Kushwaha, leader of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), echoed concerns over the NDA arrangement, stating that “all is not well in the NDA,” and traveled to Delhi to meet Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday.

On the BJP side, the party released its first list of 71 candidates on Tuesday, including Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha. As per the seat-sharing deal within the NDA, BJP and JD(U) will contest 101 seats each, the LJP-RV will contest 29 seats, while HAM and RLM are allotted six seats each.