Patna: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Monday announced its list of 143 candidates for the Bihar assembly polls, five of whom would end up contesting against nominees of the other INDIA bloc constituents.
The list was released hours before the filing of nomination papers for the second and final phase was to be over.
It put paid to rumours that the RJD was going to contest the Kutumba seat, currently held by state Congress president Rajesh Kumar Ram, which would have led to a full-blown face-off between the two allies.
Due to ongoing disputes within the Mahagathbandhan, the RJD had not released its candidate list until now. Even before releasing the official list, the party had allocated symbols to all its candidates.
Compared to the 2020 Assembly elections, the RJD is contesting on one less seat this time-144 seats in 2020 versus 143 seats in 2025. Important candidates include Tejashwi Yadav from Raghopur, Chandra Shekhar from Madhepura, Veena Devi (Surabhan’s wife) from Mokama, and Uday Narayan Chaudhary from Jhajha.
Meanwhile, the Congress on Monday released another list of six candidates for the Bihar Assembly polls, taking the total number of candidates announced by the party to 60.
The list was announced post-midnight, even as a formal seat-sharing deal continues to elude the Mahagathbandhan, with the RJD and the Congress unable to reach an understanding.
According to the list of six candidates, the Congress fielded Surendra Prasad Kushwaha from Valmiki Nagar, Abidur Rehman from Araria, Jalil Mastan from Amour, Tauquir Alam from Barari, Praveen Singh Kushwaha from Kahalgaon, and Vinod Chaudhary from Sikandra (SC).
The Congress had earlier released its first list of 48 candidates on Thursday, including state unit chief Rajesh Ram from Kutumba seat and CLP leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan from Kadwa.
On Friday, it fielded Rishi Mishra from Jale, followed by a list of five candidates on Saturday. Both the Congress and the RJD have continued to disburse party symbols to their candidates.
Chinks in the Mahagathbandhan’s armour became apparent as disgruntled aspirants in both the RJD and Congress accused the leadership of putting tickets up for sale, highlighting internal dissatisfaction ahead of the polls. The last day for filing of nomination papers for the second and final phase is Monday.
