Patna: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is intensifying its preparations ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, with a two-day mega meeting scheduled in Patna on October 4–5 to discuss seat allocation and potential candidates. The meeting comes as the party considers a strict candidate selection process, in which more than a dozen sitting MLAs may lose their tickets.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and BJP election co-in-charge Keshav Prasad Maurya arrived in Patna, holding discussions with senior party leaders including Hansraj Ahir, chairman of the National Commission for Backward Classes, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, and former state president Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal. The discussions focused on election preparedness and organisational strategy.
The BJP is also expected to hold talks with its allies, including Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (R), Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM Party, and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM, with official announcements regarding these meetings likely in the coming days.
The candidate selection process will consider multiple factors. Central Election Committee officials, including election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan, co-in-charge Keshav Prasad Maurya, C.R. Patil, Bihar BJP state chief Dilip Jaiswal, and Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, will review prospective candidates during the Patna meeting. A final list will then be ratified at the Bihar BJP core group meeting in Delhi.
According to party insiders, key criteria for ticket denial include anti-incumbency, public dissatisfaction, inactivity within the party, slow development work, poor performance against opposition candidates, and caste and social considerations. The move also reflects a strategy to introduce new faces in constituencies or adjust candidates due to seat-sharing arrangements with allies.
