Bihar assembly elections: NDA names all 243 candidates
The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has finalised its candidates for all 243 constituencies in the upcoming Bihar Assembly election, marking the formal launch of its campaign phase.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] released its second and final list of 44 candidates on Thursday, completing its share of 101 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), contesting an equal 101, had issued its third and final list on October 15. Allied partners—Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) [LJP(RV)] and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM)—have also declared candidates for their remaining 29 and 6 seats respectively. Earlier, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) [HAM(S)] had announced its six nominees on October 14.
The JD(U)’s list features 13 women and four Muslim candidates. The party has allotted 37 tickets to candidates from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), 22 each to those from Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) and upper castes, 14 to Scheduled Castes (SCs), and one to a Scheduled Tribe (ST) representative.
Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and several ministers filed their nominations on Thursday, with large rallies across constituencies attended by Chief Ministers from other NDA-ruled states and senior BJP leaders.
Meanwhile, the BJP has unveiled a list of 40 star campaigners led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president J.P. Nadda, and senior Union Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh.
The list also includes five Chief Ministers, among them Assam’s Himanta Biswa Sarma, Delhi’s Rekha Gupta, and Maharashtra’s Devendra Fadnavis.
Nitish Kumar kicked off his campaign from Darbhanga, addressing multiple public meetings in support of NDA candidates.
