PM-led BJP panel to finalise Bihar candidates on Sunday

The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners in Bihar are understood to have sealed the seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Assembly elections, with a formal announcement expected in Patna on Saturday.

In a parallel development, the BJP’s Central Election Committee (CEC), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will meet on Sunday to finalise candidates for the Bihar polls.

Sources told The Tribune that the CEC meeting, to be held at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, will follow a core group meeting chaired by party president JP Nadda on Saturday to shortlist candidates for all 243 Assembly constituencies.

The BJP’s Bihar election committee has already sent panels of names to the party leadership. The first list of candidates is likely to be announced by October 13, and may feature a joint NDA slate rather than a BJP-only list, party leaders indicated.

Ahead of the weekend developments, NDA partners Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) president Jitan Ram Manjhi struck conciliatory tones, asserting that seat-sharing talks were progressing smoothly.

Paswan, who had earlier demanded 40 seats, hinted at a breakthrough, saying he had “nothing to worry when my Prime Minister is there.” The LJP did not contest as an NDA ally in 2020 and must now be accommodated afresh.

HAM, which contested seven seats and won four in 2020, is seeking 15 this time — a demand unlikely to be met in full. Sources said both Paswan and Manjhi are expected to accept the final formula following interventions by senior BJP leaders.

Meanwhile, the BJP aims to consolidate women voters in Bihar, banking on the recent Rs 10,000 cash transfers made to the accounts of 75 lakh women under a welfare initiative that has covered 22 per cent of the state’s women electorate.

The party’s social media handles have begun showcasing video testimonials from beneficiaries, highlighting how the funds are helping women start or sustain small businesses.

The BJP has reaped electoral dividends from similar women-centric direct cash transfer schemes in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi, and hopes to replicate that success in Bihar.