Kishor opts out, Tejashwi files nomination from Raghopur

In a significant development, Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Wednesday announced that he would not contest the Bihar Assembly polls. The move comes as a relief for RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who filed his nomination papers from the Raghopur seat in Vaishali district.

He was accompanied by his father Lalu Prasad and sister Misa Bharti. “The people of Raghopur have always given their blessings to me and my family. I am sure they will do so this time as well,” said Tejashwi. The Raghopur seat, a Yadav-dominated constituency, has previously been represented by Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi and Tejashwi himself.

Tejashwi, seeking a hat-trick victory, dismissed rumours that he would contest from two constituencies this time. The crowd in Hajipur was so large that Tejashwi’s brother Tej Pratap Yadav, who was scheduled to file his nomination from Mahua in the same district, had to postpone it. Notably, unlike previous elections, not a single leader from RJD’s allies was present during Tejashwi’s nomination.

“Leaders of our allies are busy helping their own candidates file papers,” said RJD spokesperson Shakti Yadav. Talks over seat sharing have dragged on for so long that the usual joint press briefing to clarify seat distribution has not been held so far. Even on Wednesday, allies were still clashing over nine seats.

Kishor, who kicked off his election campaign from Raghopur, said, “The party has decided that I should not contest the polls. We have thus announced another candidate against Tejashwi. It was a decision we took in the larger interests of the party. If I were to contest, it would have distracted me from necessary organisational work.”

Meanwhile, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta flew to Patna to attend the nomination filing of Deputy CM Vijay Sinha, while UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya was present for BJP minister Sanjay Sarogi’s filing in Darbhanga. Both leaders praised Bihar’s development under NDA rule, but here too, no ally leaders were seen. “All our allies are busy finalising and filing nominations,” said BJP spokesperson Prem Kumar Patel.

Tensions within the NDA were also visible as RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha expressed displeasure after learning one of his seats had been changed. “All is not well in the NDA,” he remarked, threatening to opt out of the polls despite Union Minister Nityanand Rai’s attempts to convince him to accept change. Kushwaha was later called to Delhi for talks with Amit Shah. After a 45-minute meeting, he said he was satisfied. BJP sources indicated that he was assured a renewal of his Rajya Sabha seat next year.

The BJP on Wednesday released the third list of 18 candidates after releasing the second list of 12 earlier in the day. The party has now declared names of candidates for all 101 seats it will contest as part of the seat-sharing deal with NDA allies.

Prominent names include that of folk singer Maithili Thakur, who had joined the party just a day earlier. She will contest from Alinagar. Another notable candidate is Anand Mishra, a former IPS officer of the Assam cadre who quit the service to contest the last Lok Sabha polls from Buxar as an Independent. He will now contest from the Buxar Assembly seat.

The JD(U) also announced its first list of 57 candidates for the first phase of polls scheduled for November 6. The list emphasises the party’s core Luv-Kush (Kurmi-Kushwaha) vote bank, with 21 candidates from these communities, while also accommodating upper castes and other non-Yadav OBCs. However, there are no Muslim candidates so far. In 2020, the JD(U) fielded 11 Muslim candidates, but none of them won. Another noticeable shift is the inclusion of candidates with criminal backgrounds. They include Anant Singh from Mokama, Dhumal Singh from Ekma and Amarendra Pandey from Kuchakot. “The focus this time is on winning,” said a senior JD(U) leader.

The Congress too announced its first list of 13 candidates even as it is yet to seal a seat-sharing pact with its allies. Among its candidates are Kaushlendra Kumar (Nalanda), Rajesh Ram (Kutumba), Shiv Prakash Gareebdas (Bachhwara), Pratima Das (Rajapakar), Anand Shankar Singh (Aurangabad), Jitendra Singh (Amarpur), Amita Bhushan (Begusarai), Laalan Kumar (Sultanganj), Shashi Shekhar Singh (Wazirganj), Trishul Dhari Singh (Barhbhiga), Om Prakash Garg (Gopalganj) and Vijendra Chaudhary (Muzafarpur).