Bihar First Phase Elections 2025: Key Leaders and 12 Constituencies to Watch

With less than 24 hours left before the first phase of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, voters in 121 constituencies across 18 districts of the state’s 243 seats will go to polls on Thursday, November 6. The remaining 122 seats will go to the polls in the second phase on November 11.

The first phase features prominent candidates, including RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, his brother Tej Pratap Yadav (Janshakti Janata Dal), Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary, and singer-turned-candidate Maithili Thakur. They are among 1,314 candidates in this round.

In the 121 seats going to election in the first phase of the Bihar Assembly polls, RJD had won the majority in 2020. It emerged that RJD was the largest party, winning 42 seats, while BJP won 32 and JD(U) secured only 23. Congress won 8 seats, and the Left parties won 11. The 2020 data shows that RJD and BJP together dominated more than half of these seats (a total of 74) in the first phase.

There are at least 12 important seats that should be watched in this phase:

Raghopur: This is considered a family seat for the RJD. This time, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav is contesting from here for the third time. Tejashwi defeated Satish Kumar of the BJP in 2015 and 2020. Satish Yadav is challenging him from the NDA side, while Chanchal Kumar of Jansurya is also in the fray.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, the Mahagathbandhan alliance’s chief minister face, is set to contest a high-stakes battle for the Raghopur Assembly seat against NDA candidate Satish

The Yadav-dominated Raghopur seat has been with the RJD family since 1995. Except for the period from 2010 to 2015, when the JD(U) held it. The Yadav-dominated Raghopur seat has been with the RJD family since 1995. Except for the period from 2010 to 2015, when the JD(U) held it, the constituency has elected Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav for the last two terms.

Tarapur: Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary is contesting this seat, which fall sin Munger district. He is expected to face a direct contest with Arun Kumar Shah of the RJD. Santosh Kumar Singh of Jan Suraj and Sukhdev Yadav of Tej Pratap Yadav's Janshakti Janata Dal are also trying to challenge him.

The seat is expected to witness a tight contest, as the largest group of voters comprises the Yadavs, who number around 63,000, with about 20,000 Muslims, 50,000 upper castes (Rajputs, Brahmins), 40,000 Kushwahas, 35,000 Sahs, and 28,000 Dalits.

Choudhary, a sitting MLC, is contesting an election after 15 years, while Shah had contested from Tarapur in a 2021 bypoll and lost by a slender margin of just over 3,800 votes to the JD(U)’s Rajiv Kumar Singh.

Mahua: Tej Pratap Yadav, the estranged son of Lalu Prasad, is contesting the Mahua seat in Vaishali district as an Independent Candidate. He was expelled from the RJD in May and now faces sitting RJD MLA Mukesh Kumar Raushan. The LJP’s Sanjay Kumar Singh adds a third front to the contest.

Tej Pratap was removed from the RJD for alleged misconduct following a social media post. After his expulsion, he is trying to rebuild his base under the banner of the Janshakti Janta Dal (JJD), having previously won Mahua in 2015.

Mokama: This seat has been in the news following the murder of Jan Suraaj supporter Dularchand Yadav, who was campaigning for JSP candidate Piyush Priyadarshi, and the arrest of JDU candidate Anant Singh. Known as “Chhote Sarkar,” Singh is a four-time MLA from Mokama and was once closely associated with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

The main contest is between Anant Singh and Veena Devi, wife of Suraj Bhan Singh, who is standing on an RJD ticket.

Alinagar: The BJP has nominated folk singer Maithili Thakur for Alinagar in Darbhanga, marking her electoral debut. She will face the RJD’s Binod Mishra and the JSP’s Biplaw Kumar Chowdhary in the first phase. The party hopes her popularity and cultural appeal in the Mithila region will translate into votes.

Thakur, 25, joined the BJP in October when it released its first list of 71 candidates for the Bihar Assembly election.

Alinagar has traditionally favoured the RJD. Veteran leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui dominated the seat for decades, winning seven times before stepping aside after 2015. In 2020, the constituency was narrowly taken by VIP’s Mishri Lal Yadav — a former RJD leader who moved to the NDA — with a margin of just over 3,000 votes.

Chhapra: Popular Bhojpuri singer Khesari Lal Yadav is contesting from the Chhapra seat, which falls under the Saran Lok Sabha constituency on an RJD ticket. His main opponent is the BJP’s Chhoti Kumari, though independent candidate Rakhi Gupta is working to turn the race into a three-cornered contest.

The RJD originally nominated Khesari Lal’s wife, Chanda Devi, but replaced her after it emerged she was not on the electoral roll.

Lakhisarai: Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha has held the Lakhisarai seat since 2005 and is seeking a fifth term this November. In 2020, he won for the BJP with about 74,212 votes, defeating Congress candidate Amresh Kumar by roughly 10,500 votes.

Amresh Kumar is again in the race, joined by new contenders, including Suraj Kumar of Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party.

Lakhisarai has remained a BJP stronghold in the last three Assembly polls — 2010, 2015 and 2020 — backed largely by Bhumihar and other upper-caste voters.

Sinha, a Bhumihar leader, civil engineer and former RSS worker, became the BJP’s first Speaker in Bihar after the party formed government with the JD(U) in 2020.

Begusarai: Once a Left stronghold, the seat was won by the BJP in 2020. This time, the party’s Kundan Kumar faces Congress candidate Amita Bhushan. The political landscape has changed significantly since the Mandal era. Dr Mira Singh, a gynaecologist, is contesting from Begusarai on an AAP ticket.
BJP seems confident of winning about retaining the seat, bolstered by Giriraj Singh’s lead in six of the seven Assembly segments during the 2024 Lok Sabah elections

Arrah: In Arrah, the BJP’s Sanjay Singh “Tiger” faces Vijay Kumar Gupta of the JSP and CPI(ML) candidate Quyamuddin Ansari, who is one of the poorest candidates this election.

Since 2010, the seat has alternated between the BJP and the RJD. Amrendra Pratap Singh of the BJP won in 2010 and 2020, with Ansari finishing second. In the 2015 bypoll, the RJD’s Mohammad Nawaz Alam took the seat.

Patna Sahib: In Patna Sahib, the BJP has replaced long-serving MLA Nand Kishore Yadav, 72, with 45-year-old lawyer Ratnesh Kushwaha. The Congress has fielded debutant 35-year-old Shashant Shekhar.

An entirely urban constituency, Patna Sahib has been a BJP stronghold, with Yadav winning consistently since its creation after the 2008 delimitation. In 2020, he defeated Congress’s Pravin Singh Kushwaha by 18,300 votes.

For Congress, the election is a chance to regain a foothold in a city it has largely been absent from for decades.

Bankipur: This urban Patna seat has been held by the BJP’s Nitin Nabin since 2010. A four-time MLA from Bankipur and son of veteran leader Nabin Kishore Sinha, he is contesting again. His main challenger is Rekha Kumari, a former Congress member making her RJD debut. The party hopes her candidacy will consolidate anti-incumbency votes and attract support from groups traditionally opposed to the BJP in Patna.

Darbhanga Urban: BJP Revenue Minister Sanjay Saraogi is contesting this key Mithila seat. His main opponents are former IPS officer R. K. Mishra of the Jan Suraaj Party and Umesh Sahni of Mukesh Sahni’s VIP. Also in the fray is Mohammad Mojahid Alam, the poorest candidate, who declared assets of just Rs 1,000. Alam is the SUCI (Communist) candidate from Darbhanga Urban.

Saraogi has represented the seat since 2005. In the 2020 Assembly elections, he retained it with 84,144 votes (49.32 percent), defeating the RJD’s Amar Nath Gami, who secured 73,505 votes.

How many candidates are contesting?

In the first phase, the NDA has 57 JD(U) candidates, 48 BJP, 13 Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and 2 Rashtriya Lok Morcha contenders. The Grand Alliance fields 71 RJD, 24 Congress and 14 Left party candidates.

Additionally, the VIP and CPI are contesting six seats each, the CPM three, and the Indian Inclusive Party two. Prashant Kishore’s Jan Suraj Party is fielding 118 candidates in this phase.

How did RJD perform in the last three elections?

A review of the 121 seats shows that the RJD won just 15 in 2010 but strengthened its position in the 2015 and 2020 elections, winning 46 and 42 seats respectively.

The main contest is between the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) — comprising the BJP, JD(U), LJP, HAM and RLM — and the Mahagathbandhan alliance, which includes the Congress, RJD, VIP and Left parties CPI, CPI-ML and CPI(M). In 2020, the NDA secured 125 seats, while the Opposition won over 110.

The first phase will also determine the fate of 16 ministers in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s cabinet — 11 from the BJP and five from the JD(U). Key BJP candidates include Mangal Pandey (Siwan), Nitin Naveen (Bankipur), Samrat Choudhary (Tarapur), Vijay Kumar Sinha (Lakhisarai), Jivesh Mishra (Jale), Sanjay Saraoagi (Darbhanga Urban) and Sunil Kumar (Bihar Sharif). JD(U) ministers in the fray include Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (Sarai Ranjan), Shravan Kumar (Nalanda), Madan Sahni (Bahadurpur) and Maheshwar Hazari (Kalyanpur).