Party fields nine women and four Muslim candidates; strongman families find key representation.
Patna
The Janata Dal (United) on Thursday released its second list of 44 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, completing its share of 101 seats under the NDA’s seat-sharing arrangement. The announcement came a day after the party, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, declared its first list of 57 candidates.
The list was announced by Chandan Kumar Singh, JD (U)’s state general secretary and in-charge of the party headquarters. Among the key names is Vibha Devi, wife of Nawada strongman Rajballabh Prasad Yadav, who will contest from Nawada. Another notable inclusion is Chetan Anand, son of former MP Anand Mohan, fielded from Nabinagar in Aurangabad district. Anand, who earlier represented Sheohar on an RJD ticket in 2020, is being seen as a rewardee for backing Nitish Kumar during the 2024 trust vote.
The JD (U) has given tickets to nine women, including Shalini Mishra (Kesaria), Sweta Gupta (Sheohar), Lesi Singh (Dhamdaha), and Manorama Devi (Belaganj). Additionally, four Muslim candidates, including Zaman Khan from Chainpur, have been fielded to ensure community representation.
Prominent figures such as Mahabali Singh (Karakat), Sumit Kumar Singh (Chakai), Damodar Raut (Jhajha), and Bulo Mandal (Gopalpur) also feature in the list.
As per the NDA seat-sharing pact, the BJP and JD (U) will contest 101 seats each, LJP (Ram Vilas) will contest 29, and HAM and RLM will field six candidates each.