Bihar polls: JD(U) announces first list of 57 candidates; several ministers, new faces included

Patna: The Janata Dal (United) on Wednesday released its first list of 57 candidates, including the names of several state ministers and new faces, for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

The announcement was made just two days before the deadline for filing nominations for the first phase of polls ends on November 6.

The list includes several prominent leaders and ministers from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s cabinet, as well as a few new faces.

Among the key names, Bahubali leader Anant Kumar Singh has been fielded from Mokama, a seat from where he had already filed his nomination on Tuesday, a day before the official announcement.

Vijay Kumar Choudhary, the state’s Water Resource Minister and a close confidant of CM Nitish, will contest from Sarairanjan in Samastipur district.

Shyam Rajak, JD(U) National General Secretary, will be the party’s candidate from Phulwarisharif in Patna district.

From Suryagarha, the party has fielded Ramanand Mandal. The seat was earlier expected to go to Prahalad Yadav, a former RJD MLA who switched sides to the NDA during the February 2024 floor test. Prahalad Yadav, who had won the Suryagarha seat on an RJD ticket in 2020, has been denied a ticket this time.

Bihar JD(U) president Umesh Singh Kushwaha will contest from Mahnar (Vaishali), Cabinet Minister Maheshwar Hazari from Kalyanpur (SC reserved), Minister Ratnesh Sada from Sonbarsa (SC reserved), Minister Amrendra Pratap Singh from Kuchaikot (Gopalganj), and Education Minister Sunil Kumar from Bhore.

In a notable inclusion, Komal Singh, daughter of Veena Devi (LJP-RV MP from Vaishali), has been given a ticket from Gaighat (Muzaffarpur), signalling a strategic outreach toward LJP’s support base.

Most constituencies in the first list of JD(U) fall under the first phase of elections.

Under the NDA’s seat-sharing arrangement, the JD(U) is contesting 101 of Bihar’s 243 Assembly seats, with the rest distributed among the BJP, LJP (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha.

IANS