Patna: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released its fifth list for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, announcing the names of 17 candidates from Bihar. Notably, the tickets of four incumbent Members of Parliament, including Buxar MP and Union Minister of State Ashwini Choubey, have been revoked.
In a significant move, the party has expressed confidence in Vivek Thakur from Nawada and Giriraj Singh from Begusarai. Ravi Shankar Prasad has been nominated for the Patna Sahib constituency, while Ramkripal Yadav will contest from Patliputra, where he faces off against RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s daughter, Misa Bharti.
However, Ashwini Choubey’s ticket from Buxar has been rescinded, with Mithilesh Tiwari chosen as his replacement. Similarly, Ajay Nishad’s candidacy from Muzaffarpur has been withdrawn, with Raj Bhushan Nishad taking his place. Chhedi Paswan has also been sidelined from the Sasaram seat, with Shivesh Ram emerging as the party’s pick.
Rama Devi, the incumbent MP from Sheohar, has been left without a ticket this time around, as the seat has been allocated to the Janata Dal (United) in the seat-sharing arrangement.
Under this distribution, the BJP is set to contest on 17 seats in Bihar once again, with Nawada regaining prominence in the party’s electoral strategy.
The spotlight also falls on Vivek Thakur, the son of veteran leader CP Thakur and a Rajya Sabha MP, who has been nominated as a candidate. The party has reiterated its faith in Union Minister RK Singh from Ara and Nityanand Rai from Ujiarpur. There were speculations about Bhojpuri star Pawan Singh contesting from Ara, but he declined the offer citing personal reasons after being nominated from Asansol.
Following Amit Shah’s rally in Patna, it was widely anticipated that Ramkripal Yadav would contest once again from Patliputra, a prediction that has materialized with his nomination.
Mithilesh Tiwari, BJP’s State General Secretary, who became an MLA from Baikunthpur Assembly seat in 2015, has been chosen as the candidate from Buxar. Notably, he lost in the 2020 elections to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
However, the absence of any female candidates among the 17 nominees has drawn attention, especially with the Sheohar seat being reallocated. Lovely Anand has been given the opportunity to contest from Shivhar on a JD(U) ticket.
