Congress releases second list for Bihar elections, announces names of five candidates

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday released its second list for the Bihar assembly elections, announcing candidates for Narkatiaganj, Kishanganj, Kasba, Purnia and Gaya Town assembly seats.

The party has fielded Shaswat Kedar Pandey from Narkatiaganj and Qamrul Hoda from Kishanganj.

Irfan Alam, Jitender Yadav and Mohan Shrivasta will contest elections from Kasba, Purnia and Gaya Town constituencies respectively.

Earlier, on October 17, the Congress party released its first list of 48 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Legislative Assembly elections.

Mahagathbandhan, which includes RJD and Congress, could not conclude a seat pact for the first phase of the Bihar polls, with the nomination process ending on Friday. The constituents of Mahagathbandhan are engaged in a “friendly fight” on some seats.

Polling for the Bihar elections 2025 will take place on November 6 and 11. The results will be announced on November 14.

Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor on Saturday took a jibe at the Mahagathbandhan, saying that the opposition alliance would finish in the third place in the Bihar polls.

He stated that the fight in the Bihar elections is between the National Democratic Alliance and Jan Suraaj.

“INDIA alliance is going to finish third this time. The fight is between the NDA and Jan Suraaj,” he told reporters.

Earlier today, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) announced that it will contest the Bihar polls independently, rather than as part of the Mahagathbandhan. JMM, which heads the ruling coalition in Jharkhand, is part of the opposition INDIA bloc.

JMM general secretary and spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya announced that the party will contest six seats on its own.

“Dhamdaha, Chakai, Katoria, Manihari, Jamui and Pirpainti – we will contest these. The situation everywhere is different. Why is Congress contesting against RJD? Why is CPI contesting against VIP? Election strategies change,” he said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari alleged earlier in the day that there is an “internal tug of war” within the opposition Mahagathbandhan, stating that Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) workers are fighting against Congress workers on the ground.

“Aapsi ladai ke patake Mahagathbandhan main phoot rahe hain,” he said.

“Mahagathbandhan in Bihar has till not officially announced its seat sharing. There are reports that RJD wants to have a candidate against the Congress Bihar President. Mahagathbandhan in Bihar is fighting a massive Internal tug of war: Rahul Gandhi has asked his party men to not focus on RJD seats. RJD workers are fighting against Congress workers on ground,” Bhandari posted on X.

“Tejasvi Yadav and Mukesh Sahni have no face to show their workers; after been humiliated by Congress and Rahul Gandhi,” he added. Electioneering has picked up pace, especially on seats going to the polls in the first phase of Bihar election (ANI)