Patna: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) late Wednesday night announced its third list of 18 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, including two women. The announcement came around 11 pm, completing the party’s declared tally of 101 candidates.
Satish Yadav to Face Tejashwi Yadav in Raghopur
The most notable name in the latest list is Satish Kumar Yadav, who will take on RJD leader and former Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav in Raghopur, a key constituency considered the Yadav family’s stronghold. Satish Yadav had earlier defeated Tejashwi’s mother Rabri Devi by over 13,000 votes in the 2010 Assembly elections.
Among the other candidates, Veena Devi has been fielded from Kochadhaman, while Sangeeta Kumari, who recently joined the BJP from the RJD, has been given the ticket from Mohania. Vinay Bihari will contest from Lauriya, and Bharat Bind, who crossed over from the RJD, will represent Bhabua.
In the BJP’s full list of 101 candidates, Raghavendra Pratap Singh (73) from Barhara in Bhojpur is the most senior candidate, while folk singer Maithili Thakur (25) from Alinagar in Darbhanga is the youngest.
NDA Declares 182 Candidates So Far
So far, NDA parties have announced 182 candidates — 101 from the BJP, 57 from the JD(U), 14 from the LJP (Ram Vilas), 4 from Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha, and 6 from the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM). Notably, none of these candidates are Muslims.
The BJP and JD(U) have decided to contest 101 seats each, while the remaining seats will be distributed among smaller allies. The JD(U) released its first list of 57 candidates on Wednesday, leaving 44 more to be declared. Voting in Bihar will take place in two phases — November 6 and 11, and results will be announced on November 14.
BJP’s Second List Featured Maithili Thakur and Former IPS Anand Mishra
Earlier on Wednesday, the BJP released its second list of 12 candidates, which included two prominent faces — folk singer Maithili Thakur and former IPS officer Anand Mishra.
Thakur, who joined the BJP on October 14, has been given a ticket from Alinagar. Anand Mishra, who resigned from the IPS and unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as an independent, has been fielded from Buxar.
The BJP has also nominated Kedarnath Singh, brother of former MP and strongman Prabhunath Singh, from Baniapur.
BJP Drops Several Sitting MLAs, Introduces New Faces
The BJP has made several key changes to its candidate list, dropping multiple sitting MLAs in an apparent bid to counter anti-incumbency and introduce fresh faces.
In Patna district, sitting MLA Gyanendra Singh Gyanu has been denied a ticket from Barh, while C.N. Gupta, the senior-most MLA from Chapra, has also been dropped. Instead, Chhoti Kumari, the district council president of Chapra, has been fielded.
Former minister Suresh Sharma, who represented Muzaffarpur, has been replaced by Ranjan Kumar, another leader from the Bhumihar community. In Gopalganj, Subhash Singh, the local district council president, replaces sitting MLA Kusum Devi.
The BJP’s first list, released on October 14, had 71 names, including 13 ministers and 9 women. Of the 56 sitting MLAs, 46 have been repeated, while 10 were denied tickets.
Prominent Names in the First List
The BJP’s first list featured several high-profile names, including both Deputy Chief Ministers — Samrat Chaudhary (Tarapur) and Vijay Sinha (Lakhisarai). Ministers Mangal Pandey, Nitish Mishra, Neeraj Kumar Bablu, Raju Singh, Jivesh Mishra, Dr. Sunil Kumar, Sanjay Sarawagi, Dr. Prem Kumar, Krishna Kumar Mantu, and Surendra Mehta also figure in the lineup.
The party has also fielded former Union Minister Ramkripal Yadav from Danapur, who lost the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to Misa Bharti, daughter of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Veteran leaders Nand Kishore Yadav (Patna City) and Arun Kumar Sinha (Kumhrar) have been denied tickets, signaling a generational shift within the party’s Bihar unit.
Women and Youth Get Representation
This time, the BJP has nominated 9 women candidates out of 101, compared to 13 in 2020. Among them is international shooter and sitting MLA Shreyasi Singh, who has been renominated.
The inclusion of Maithili Thakur (25) also highlights the BJP’s focus on youth and cultural connect, as she commands a significant fan following in Mithila and adjoining regions.
The Road Ahead
With the BJP finalizing its 101 candidates, the NDA alliance is nearing the completion of its seat announcements. The BJP’s move to replace several old faces with younger and socially diverse candidates indicates an effort to rebrand its image and counter fatigue among voters.
All eyes are now on the campaign strategies of major players — including Tejashwi Yadav’s RJD, Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), and Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party — as Bihar heads into a two-phase election that will test both old loyalties and new alliances.
