Patna: The meticulous scrutiny process for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections has dealt a major blow to the opposition’s Grand Alliance. Shashi Bhushan Singh, the sitting Sugauli MLA was contesting under the banner of the Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP)—a partner in the Grand Alliance—saw his nomination papers rejected on Monday.
The setback is particularly notable as it removes a sitting legislator and a key contestant backed by a major alliance from the race. While the specific technical flaw that led to Singh’s rejection was not immediately specified, the outcome forces the Grand Alliance to urgently recalibrate its strategy for the Sugauli seat, a task made more challenging given the nomination and withdrawal period has concluded.
A Wider Narrowing of the Field
Singh was not alone in facing the Returning Officer’s axe. A total of ten nominations were filed from the Sugauli assembly segment, and half of them—five in total—were rejected due to various technical reasons. The rejections included candidates from smaller parties and independents:
- Gayasuddin Samani (Aam Aadmi Party)
- Sadre Alam (Apni Janata Party)
- Prakash Chaudhary (Independent)
- Krishna Mohan Jha (Independent)
- Shashi Bhushan Singh (VIP, Grand Alliance-backed)
Phase One: The Final Tally
The conclusion of the nomination withdrawal period on Monday officially finalized the list of candidates for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections. This phase covers 121 assembly constituencies across 18 districts and saw substantial pruning during the scrutiny process.
Initially, 1,690 candidates had filed nominations. After the scrutiny, 1,375 were found valid. A further sixty-one candidates voluntarily withdrew their nominations, leaving the final count of contestants for the first phase at 1,314.
