RJD Unveils Candidates For 143 Seats; Tejashwi Yadav To Contest From Raghopur

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Monday (20 October) announced its list of candidates for 143 constituencies in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, fielding party leader Tejashwi Yadav from the Raghopur seat in Vaishali district.

The announcement comes amid the continuing deadlock within the INDIA bloc over seat-sharing arrangements, with negotiations between the RJD and Congress yet to yield a formal agreement.

The Bihar Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in two phases on 6 and 11 November, with counting set for 14 November.

The deadline for withdrawal of nominations for the first phase, covering 121 of the state’s 243 seats, expires at 3 pm today. As of Sunday evening, 1,375 nominations had been cleared.

The Congress, meanwhile, released a fresh list of six candidates post-midnight, according to a Hindustan Times report, bringing its total to 60,

The latest list includes Surendra Prasad Kushwaha (Valmiki Nagar), Abidur Rehman (Araria), Jalil Mastan (Amour), Tauquir Alam (Barari), Praveen Singh Kushwaha (Kahalgaon), and Vinod Chaudhary (Sikandra-SC).

Political turbulence has defined Bihar’s pre-election climate, with defections and party-switching becoming increasingly frequent. Former MP and four-time MLA Sarfaraz Alam joined Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, marking yet another high-profile defection.

The son of former Union minister Mohammad Taslimuddin, Alam has represented Jokihat four times—twice each under RJD and JD(U) banners.

In total, nine candidates who won in the previous assembly elections under different party tickets are contesting this year with new affiliations.

Following the fall of the Grand Alliance-led government last year, seven MLAs from the RJD and Congress crossed over to the NDA, with nearly all being rewarded with tickets for the 2025 polls.

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Also Read: Mahagathbandhan In Disarray As JMM, RLJP Go Solo Amid Stalled Seat-Sharing Talks In Bihar; Last Date Of Filing Nominations Today