JD(U) announces 57 candidates, second list expected by 17 October.
Nitish Kumar to launch Bihar election campaign from Samastipur on 16 October.
Prashant Kishor confirms he won’t contest; JSP fields 116 candidates.
The Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) on Wednesday released the first list of 57 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar set to launch his campaign from Samastipur district on Thursday, 16 October. The party’s second and final list is expected by 17 October, according to The Hindu.
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Under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) arrangement, JD(U) is contesting 101 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 101, the Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) 29, while the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAM-S) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) led by Jitan Ram Manjhi and Upendra Kushwaha respectively are allocated six seats each.
Reportedly, both RLM leader Upendra Kushwaha and HAM(S) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi are dissatisfied with seat allocations. Mr. Kushwaha is said to be upset over the Mahua seat in Vaishali district, initially promised to him but now allocated to the LJP (RV). Mr. Kushwaha, along with senior BJP leader and Union Minister of State Nityanand Rai, reportedly left for Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah to resolve the alleged differences.
Speaking to media on Wednesday, JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha said, “Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is a democratic leader, not autocratic, and he takes every decision after consulting all stakeholders, but the final decision he takes on his own.”
The poll campaign will begin in Samastipur, and Mr. Kumar may also visit Darbhanga, sources told The Hindu. He is expected to attend the nomination filing of Cabinet colleague and party MLA Vijay Kumar Choudhary in Sarairanjan constituency on 16 October.
Meanwhile, Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder and former poll strategist Prashant Kishor announced that he would not contest the Assembly elections, citing responsibilities to campaign for party candidates. Speaking to media, Mr. Kishor said, “My party colleagues have taken the decision that I should not contest the poll and I too am agreeing with them as I have a lot of responsibilities to shoulder. I have to campaign for all party candidates.”
The JSP had launched its campaign on 12 October from Raghopur, a constituency won twice consecutively by Opposition Leader in the State Assembly Tejashwi Yadav. While Mr. Kishor had considered contesting either against Mr. Yadav or from his birthplace Kargahar in Rohtas district, the party announced Bhojpuri singer-actor Ritesh Pandey as the candidate from Kargahar. Chanchal Singh, a local businessman and JSP vice-president of the youth wing, has been nominated for Raghopur, previously associated with JD(U), The Hindu reported.
The JSP has announced a total of 116 candidates in two lists, with representation mainly from the Extremely Backward Class (31), Backward (21), minority (21), and general categories (14). Mr. Kishor emphasised, “Those who have as much population will get that much seat representation,” while releasing the second list in Patna.
(With inputs from The Hindu)
