JD(U) releases first list of 57 candidates for Bihar Assembly elections 2025
List includes five seats sought by LJP (Ram Vilas), signaling a firm stand by CM Nitish Kumar's party in the NDA seat-sharing agreement
The JD(U) on Wednesday (October 15) released its first list of 57 candidates for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. The list includes five seats that Chirag Paswan strongly sought, indicating that Nitish Kumar’s party is keen on contesting those seats and is unlikely to give in to the allies’ demand.
The key candidates in JD(U)’s first list include Ratnesh Sada from Sonbarsa, Vidyasagar Nishad from Morwa, Dhumal Singh from Ekma, and Kaushal Kishore from Rajgir.
The party has also fielded several senior leaders and sitting MLAs, including Vijay Kumar Choudhary, a minister in the state government, who will contest from Sarai Ranjan, Narendra Narayan Yadav from Alamnagar, Niranjan Kumar Mehta from Bihariganj, Ramesh Rishi Dev from Singheshwar, and Kavita Saha from Madhepura. The list also includes turncoats like Shyam Rajak, who returned to the party, quitting RJD about a year ago.
Seats retained
JD(U)’s first list of candidates includes five incumbent ministers who have retained their seats, three strongmen, including Anant Kumar Singh and four women candidates.
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The five ministers who have made it to JU(U)’s first list of candidates are Development Minister Shravan Kumar, from Nalanda, Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (Sarairanjan), Information and Public Relations Minister Maheshwar Hazari (Kalyanpur), Social Welfare Minister Madan Sahni (Bahadurpur) and Prohibition Minister Ratnesh Sada from Sonbarsa.
The JD(U) and its ally, the BJP, are contesting 101 seats each in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections that will witness a contest in the 243 Assembly seats in the state. The rest of the seats have gone to Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha and Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha.
Nitish irked
As for the five sought by the LJP (Ram Vilas) — Morwa, Sonbarsa, Rajgir, Gaighat and Matihani — the JD(U)’s decision to contest those seats, indicates the party’s firm stand in this regard. It's reported that Paswan’s demand for the seats has irked Nitish Kumar, and he made it clear that the seats won by the JD(U) in the last Bihar Assembly elections must stay with the party.
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Elections to the 243-member assembly will be held in two phases, on November 6 and 11. The votes will be counted on November 14