AIMIM Announces 25 Candidates for Bihar Assembly Elections as Political Landscape Takes Shape

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi has announced his party's electoral strategy for Bihar by releasing a list of 25 candidates for the upcoming state assembly elections.

The Bihar Assembly elections are scheduled in two phases, with voting taking place on November 6 and November 11, followed by the counting of votes on November 14 for all 243 constituencies.

AIMIM shared the candidate list on their official X platform, stating: "The names of AIMIM candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections are as follows. Inshallah, we hope to become the voice of the most marginalized people in Bihar. This list has been prepared by the AIMIM Bihar unit, with consultation from the party's national leadership."

The announcement included notable candidates such as Mohammed Kaif contesting from Siwan, Anas Salam from Gopalganj AC, Advocate Shams Aagaz from Kishanganj, Rashid Khalil Ansari from Madhubani, and Mohammad Manzoor Alam from Araria, among others.

In parallel developments, the Congress party released its second list of candidates for the Bihar elections on Saturday, naming contestants for five assembly seats including Narkatiaganj, Kishanganj, Kasba, Purnia and Gaya Town. Shaswat Kedar Pandey will represent Congress from Narkatiaganj, while Qamrul Hoda will contest from Kishanganj.

Congress had previously announced its first list of 48 candidates on October 17, with 24 candidates each for both election phases, indicating that remaining names would be declared subsequently.

The Mahagathbandhan alliance, comprising RJD and Congress, faced challenges in finalizing their seat-sharing arrangement for the first phase as the nomination deadline passed on Friday. Reports suggest alliance members are engaged in "friendly contests" in some constituencies.

The electoral landscape shows the NDA competing against the INDIA bloc led by Tejashwi Yadav's RJD, Congress, and left parties including CPI (ML) led by Deepankar Bhattacharya, CPI, CPM, and Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) headed by Mukesh Sahani. Additionally, Bihar voters will see a new political entrant with Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj party joining the electoral fray.