Bihar elections: BJP's first list of 71 candidates includes 2 former MPs; 10 MLAs out

New Delhi: BJP on Tuesday released its first list of 71 candidates for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, signaling a major reshuffle in the party's state leadership. Ten MLAs, including five former ministers, have been dropped and the party has brought in a mix of new and experienced faces to strengthen the party's social and regional balance.

Among those denied tickets are assembly Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav, state minister Ramprit Paswan, Motilal Prasad, former minister Amrendra Pratap Singh, MLA Ramsurat Rai, Arun Sinha, Pranav Kumar, Jaiprakash Yadav, Nikki Hembram and Mithilesh Kumar.

Deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary has been fielded from Tarapur while another deputy CM Vijay Sinha will contest from Lakhisarai. Two former deputy CMs - Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi - have been fielded from Katihar and Bettiah, respectively. Besides, senior state minister Mangal Pandey has been fielded from Siwan, Prem Kumar from Gaya, Nitin Nabin from Bankipur and Neeraj Bablu from Chhatapur.


Two former MPs - Ram Kripal Yadav and Sunil Kumar Pintu - have been fielded from Danapur and Sitamarhi, respectively. Yadav lost the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Patliputra and Pintu was denied a Lok Sabha ticket last year.

BJP's candidate selection reflects an attempt to broaden its social outreach. Of the 71 candidates, 17 belong to the OBC category, 11 to the Extremely Backward Classes, nine are women and 6 are from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. As per BJP leaders, over 50% tickets have been given to OBC, EBC, SC community and women candidates.

In Patna, BJP has made sweeping changes on four key seats out of 14 in the district. These seats are Patna Sahib, Kumhrar, Danapur and Bikram. Union minister Ram Kripal Yadav will contest from Danapur, while Siddharth Singh, who recently joined BJP from Congress, will contest from Bikram. In Kumhrar, Sanjay Gupta has replaced MLA Arun Sinha while in Patna Sahib Nand Kishor Yadav has been replaced by Ratnesh Kushwaha.

In Aurangabad, the party has fielded Trivikram Singh, son of former MP Gopal Narayan Singh.

With this list, BJP has sought to strike a balance between young and experienced faces. Party sources described the reshuffle as a strategic move to re-energise the cadre and expand BJP's social base ahead of the crucial elections.