Patna: Bihar is gearing up for a flood of candidates in its 2025 assembly elections, with projections indicating that over 5,000 contenders could enter the fray – almost double the number in 2020. The surge comes as small parties announce plans to field candidates on all 243 assembly seats, posing a challenge to the state’s dominant political alliances.
In 2020, around 3,750 candidates contested the elections, up from 3,450 in 2015 and 3,500 in 2010. This time, parties like Jan Suraj, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Plurals Party have declared their intention to contest every seat.
Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraj party, which has been conducting padyatras across the state for months, claims an average of six aspirants per seat. Party spokesperson Obaidur Rahman said, “We are preparing to field candidates on all 243 seats. There is no shortage of candidates and we aim to form the government on our own.”
The BSP, which won one seat in 2020 with 1.49% of the vote, is also contesting alone. Party leader Umashankar Gautam stated, “We will contest on all 243 seats and field winning candidates. We do not believe in coalition politics.”
AAP is contesting Bihar assembly elections for the first time, claiming organisational strength in every district. Spokesperson Bablu Prakash said the party will field candidates on all seats with approval from leader Arvind Kejriwal.
Plurals Party, led by Pushpam Priya Choudhary, is contesting its second election. In 2020, the party fielded candidates on 43 seats but failed to make an impact. This time, it also plans to contest all seats.
Political analyst Kaushalendra Priyadarshi warned that the rise of small parties could hurt larger alliances. “They may win or lose but they can spoil the game of big parties,” he said.
The selection process for candidates is ongoing across parties. As Bihar heads towards an unprecedented number of candidates, the elections are set to become one of the most contested in the state’s recent history.
