Bihar – The Bihar NDA alliance took significant steps toward resolving internal conflicts on Wednesday as the Janata Dal (United) released its first list of 57 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections. Multiple partner parties within the Bihar NDA alliance announced candidate lists, suggesting that the tensions evident just a day earlier were nearing resolution through seat swaps and strategic accommodations.
Bihar NDA Alliance Partners Announce Candidate Lists
The Bihar NDA alliance witnessed simultaneous candidate announcements from multiple partners on Wednesday. The JD(U) released its first list of 57 candidates, while the Bharatiya Janata Party announced two lists totaling 30 candidates. Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) released a list of 14 candidates, demonstrating coordinated action within the Bihar NDA alliance.
The JD(U) is contesting 101 seats in the Bihar NDA alliance, matching its partner BJP’s allocation. The BJP has now announced candidates for all 101 seats allocated to it, completing a significant portion of the alliance’s candidate selection process. The LJP (Ram Vilas) is contesting 29 seats, while the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and Jitan Ram Majhi’s Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) have been allocated six seats each within the Bihar NDA alliance framework.
Seat Swaps Resolve Bihar NDA Alliance Tensions
Part of the resolution within the Bihar NDA alliance involves strategic seat swaps between partners. The JD(U)’s first list included candidates for four seats that were presumably allotted to Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), indicating flexibility in seat arrangements.
The JD(U) declared candidates on four seats—Sonbarsa, Morwa, Ekma, and Rajgir—originally given to Chirag Paswan. The list revealed that the Bihar NDA alliance has facilitated swaps of four seats with the BJP, including Tarapur, where BJP leader and deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary will contest. Party leaders indicated the likelihood of additional swaps involving Karakat, Dinara, Sasaram, Barauli, and Gopalganj seats, details of which will be clarified in the second list expected within days.
Upendra Kushwaha Meets Amit Shah on Bihar NDA Alliance
Rashtriya Lok Morcha’s Upendra Kushwaha, who stated on Tuesday that “All is not well in NDA,” met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai on Wednesday. Following the meeting, Kushwaha expressed optimism about the Bihar NDA alliance, stating he hoped “there will be no further difficulties.”
Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal addressed the media in Kushwaha’s presence later in the evening, confirming that all issues within the Bihar NDA alliance had been resolved. “He met the home minister today and discussed campaigning and nominations. RLM will also release its list of six candidates soon and from tomorrow its candidates will file their nominations. The NDA is united and going ahead with strong cohesion,” Jaiswal stated.
Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Kushwaha wanted the Mahua assembly seat, which had been allocated to the LJP(RV) within the Bihar NDA alliance. Kushwaha has reportedly been assured of an extended term in the Rajya Sabha, with his current term ending in April 2026, as part of the accommodations made within the alliance.
JD(U) Candidate List Analysis
The JD(U)’s first list for the Bihar NDA alliance included 19 sitting MLAs, 11 candidates who lost in the 2020 assembly polls (the party’s worst-ever performance), and 27 fresh faces. Of the candidates, 10 belong to scheduled castes, and four are women. Notably, no Muslims featured in the first list.
JD(U) working president Sanjay Jha emphasized the clarity within the Bihar NDA alliance and the JD(U). “No decision in the JD(U) is possible without the knowledge and consent of Nitish Kumar. He is the face of NDA. But he is a democratic person, not autocratic. He believes in debate and discussion, but every party decision has his approval,” Jha stated.
BJP Releases Multiple Candidate Lists
The BJP, as part of the Bihar NDA alliance, released multiple lists throughout Wednesday. Just before Shah’s meeting with Kushwaha, the BJP released its second list of 12 candidates, including popular folk singer Maithili Thakur, who will contest from Alinagar in Darbhanga. The list also featured former Assam cadre Indian Police Service officer Anand Mishra from Buxar.
Late Wednesday, the BJP released a third list of 18 candidates, fielding Satish Kumar Yadav from Raghopur to contest against RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav. The party had previously released its first list of 71 candidates on Tuesday, which triggered some rebellion with former minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey’s son announcing he would contest from Bhagalpur assembly seat after being denied a ticket.
Internal Challenges Persist for Some Partners
Despite progress in the Bihar NDA alliance, some partners continued expressing dissatisfaction. Jitan Ram Majhi expressed anguish over Chirag Paswan receiving 29 seats while his party received only six. “I am not happy with the seats we got. But, we will remain part of the NDA,” Majhi told reporters Wednesday, demonstrating that while the Bihar NDA alliance remains intact, complete satisfaction remains elusive.
In a separate development, the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an NDA ally in Uttar Pradesh, announced it would contest 153 of 243 seats independently in Bihar. SBSP national general secretary Arvind Rajbhar stated in Patna that due to “unresponsive behaviour” from the state BJP unit, the party could not align with the Bihar NDA alliance and would not be part of any bloc in Bihar.
Opposition Alliance Still Negotiating
The rival Mahagatbandhan, led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal and including Congress, had yet to finalize seat-sharing arrangements till late Wednesday. RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav filed his nomination from the Raghopur seat, and by late Wednesday, 10 RJD candidates and two Congress candidates had filed nominations.
The first phase of polling for 121 of Bihar’s 243 seats is scheduled for November 6, with the second phase on November 11. The deadline for filing nominations is October 17 and 20 respectively, with results to be announced on November 14.
