JD(U) Finalises 44 Candidates In Second List, Completes 101-Seat Bihar Poll Lineup

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) on Thursday released its second and final list of 44 candidates for the 2025 Assembly elections, completing the party’s full lineup of 101 seats under the NDA’s seat-sharing arrangement with the BJP.

The first list of 57 candidates had been announced a day earlier after extensive discussions within the JD(U) leadership over seat allocation in the alliance.

According to The Indian Express, the latest list includes several ministers such as Sheila Mandal, Vijendra Prasad Yadav, Leshi Singh, Jayant Raj, and Mohd Zama Khan. JD(U) has fielded Kaladhar Mandal from the Rupauli seat. Party MP Sanjay Kumar Jha told The Indian Express that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would launch the campaign later in the day.

Bihar Election 2025: JD(U) Final Candidates List

With this announcement, JD(U) has now named all candidates in its share of seats. The 44 names announced on Thursday are:

Valmikinagar – Dhirendra Pratap Singh (Rinku Singh)

Sikta – Samrudh Verma

Narkatiya – Vishal Sah

Kasariya – Shalini Mishra

Shivhar – Shweta Gupta

Sursand – Nagendra Raut

Runisaidpur – Pankaj Mishra

Harnakhi – Sudhanshu Shekhar

Babubarhi – Meena Kamat

Phulparas – Shaila Mandal

Laukaha – Satish Saha

Nirmali – Aniruddha Prasad Yadav

Pipra – Ram Vilas Kamat

Supaul – Vijendra Prasad Yadav

Tribeniganj (S.C.) – Sonam Rani Sardar

Raniganj (S.C.) – Adhishtit Rishidev

Arariya – Shabnum Akhter

Jokihat – Janab Manzar Alam

Thakurganj – Gopal Agrawal

Amour – Saba Zafar

Rupauli – Kaladhar Mandal

Dhamdaha – Leshi Singh

Korba – Dulalachand Goswami

Manihari (S.T.) – Shambhu Suman

Barari – Vijay Singh Nishad

Gopalpur – Bullo Mandal

Sultanganj – Dr Lalit Narayan Mandal

Kahalgaon – Shivanand Mukesh

Amarpur – Jayant Raj

Dhuraiya (S.T.) – Manish Kumar

Belhar – Manoj Yadav

Chainpur – Mohd Zama Khan

Karahgar – Bashisth Singh

Karakat – Mahabali Singh

Nokha – Nagendra Chandravanshi

Kurthi – Pappu Kumar Verma

Jehanabad – Chandeshwar Chandravanshi

Ghosi – Rituraj Kumar

Nabinagar – Chetan Anand Singh

Rafiganj – Pramod Kumar Singh

Belaganj – Manorama Devi

Nawada – Vibha Devi

Jhajha – Damodar Rawat

Chakai – Sumit Kumar Singh

JD(U) Fields Four Muslim Candidates, Focuses on Caste Balance

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) has fielded four Muslim candidates for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, according to an NDTV report. The party’s minority nominees include Mohd. Zama Khan from Chainpur, Saba Zafar from Amour, Janab Manzar Alam from Jokihat, and Shagufta Azim from Araria. Except for Chainpur, the remaining three constituencies lie in the Seemanchal region — a politically sensitive area that accounts for a large share of Bihar’s 17% Muslim population, NDTV reported.

According to the NDTV, the JD(U)’s Muslim representation this time is less than half of the ten candidates it had fielded in the 2020 elections. The party’s candidate selection aims to balance caste and community representation across its 101 seats under the NDA alliance. It has given tickets to 37 candidates from Backward Classes, 22 each from Extremely Backward Classes and the General Category, 15 from Scheduled Castes, and one from a Scheduled Tribe.

NDTV also reported that the JD(U) list includes 13 women, five ministers in the current government, and three candidates considered strong local figures. The BJP, its NDA ally, has not fielded any Muslim candidate this election, while smaller allies like HAM, RLM, and LJP (Ram Vilas) have announced most of their nominees under the coalition’s seat-sharing plan.

(With inputs from The Indian Express and NDTV)