BJP Announces 71 Candidates for Bihar Assembly Elections 2023: Deputy CMs Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha to Contest

The BJP has unveiled its initial list of 71 candidates for the forthcoming Bihar election. Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha will contest from Tarapur and Lakhisarai constituencies, respectively. Ramkripal Yadav, who previously served as a Union Minister and was once a close associate of RJD founder Lalu Prasad Yadav, has been nominated for the Danapur seat.

Notably, Assembly Speaker Nand Kishor Yadav is absent from the list, with the party instead fielding Ratnesh Kushwaha for the Patna Sahib constituency that Yadav has represented since 2010.

Other prominent BJP figures on the list include former minister Tarkishore Prasad contesting from Katihar, Health Minister Mangal Pandey from Siwan, and Road Construction Minister Nitin Nabin from Bankipur. Commonwealth Games gold medallist shooter Shreyasi Singh will seek re-election from the Jamui seat she won previously.

Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary's constituency, Tarapur, has been held by the JDU since 2010. Before that, it was represented by Chaudhary's father, Shakuni Chaudhary, who was then affiliated with Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD.

The NDA announced its seat distribution plan for the Bihar elections on Sunday. The BJP and JDU will each contest 101 seats, while the LJP (Ram Vilas) will field candidates in 29 constituencies. The Rashtriya Lok Morcha and Hindustani Awam Morcha have been allocated six seats each.

The NDA will face the Mahagathbandhan alliance, which includes RJD, Congress, Left parties, and Mukesh Sahani's Vikasheel Insaan Party. Political strategist Prashant Kishor is set to make his electoral debut with his new platform, Jan Suraaj Party.

The election will be conducted in two phases on November 6 and 11, with vote counting scheduled for November 14.