The preparations for the Bihar Assembly elections are now reaching their final stage. The nomination process for the 122 assembly seats in the second phase concluded on Monday. Simultaneously, the deadline to withdraw nominations for the first phase of 121 seats has also ended. Bihar’s second phase of voting is scheduled for November 11, whereas the first phase will witness the electorate casting their votes on November 6. The results are set to be announced on November 14.
The Election Commission confirmed that 1,375 candidates' nominations were found valid for the first phase, having completed the scrutiny process. Of these, 61 candidates withdrew their nominations, leaving 1,314 candidates to test their fate in the elections set for November 6.
JMM Opts Out of Bihar Elections
In a major political development linked to Jharkhand, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) party has decided not to participate in the Bihar Assembly elections. Previously, the party had announced on October 18 its intention to contest six seats: Jamui, Chakai, Dhamdaha, Manihari, Pirpainti, and Katoria, but failed to release any candidate lists by the nomination deadline of October 20. Consequently, JMM will not have any candidate in this election race.
JMM's Criticism of RJD and Congress
During an October 18 press conference, JMM's General Secretary and spokesperson Supreo Bhattacharya expressed that the party was ready to contest limited seats in Bihar but alleged that RJD and Congress's lack of coordination and trust forced them to withdraw from the elections.
Voting to Occur in Two Phases
This year, the Bihar Assembly elections are being conducted in two phases. Out of the total 243 assembly seats, voting will occur for 121 seats in the first phase and 122 seats in the second phase. Among these, 203 seats are for general candidates, 38 seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC), and 2 seats for Scheduled Tribes (ST).
According to the latest data from the Election Commission, Bihar has a total of 74.3 million voters, including approximately 39.2 million men, 35 million women, and 1,725 transgender voters.
Leaders Who Withdrew Nominations, Full List Inside
With the completion of the second phase nominations in the Bihar Assembly elections, Monday marked the last day for withdrawal. This period saw several notable political shifts. There was considerable unrest among rebel candidates from Jan Suraj and the BJP, with many deciding to retract their nominations.
Jan Suraj Candidates Exit Race
Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraj party faced setbacks as its candidate from the Gopalganj seat, Shashi Shekhar Sinha, withdrew his nomination. Earlier, Dr. Satya Prakash Tiwari had also exited the race from the Brahmpur seat. No nomination was made by the Jan Suraj candidate from the Danapur seat, even though the party symbol had been issued. Thus far, three candidates from Prashant Kishor's faction have exited the electoral race.
Dr. Satya Prakash Tiwari did not receive a ticket from the BJP initially and hence decided to contest from Jan Suraj. However, following discussions with the BJP leadership, he withdrew his nomination.
Return of the BJP Rebels
Monday also brought relief for the BJP with the withdrawal of rebel candidate Amrendra Pandey from Buxar assembly seat, who initially announced his decision to contest independently due to the lack of a ticket from BJP, decided to step back following a discussion with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Similarly, Shishir Kumar, who ran independently from the Patna Sahib seat and is the son of Patna mayor Sita Sahu, also withdrew his nomination. After not receiving a ticket from BJP, Shishir had initially decided to rebel, but eventually, he was convinced by the party.
Changes in Tarapur and Gopalganj
In Tarapur, VIP party candidate Sakadev Bind also retracted his nomination and later joined BJP to support Samrat Chaudhary. Sakaldev was displeased with RJD candidate Arun Kumar Yadav's candidacy.
Meanwhile, in Gopalganj, Aniket Kumar Singh, who entered as an independent following the denial of a ticket to BJP MLA’s mother Kusum Devi, also withdrew. BJP had fielded Subhash Singh in this seat, and eventually managed to appease Aniket.
Stirring Political Equations
The last date for nomination withdrawals has led to significant changes in political equations across various Bihar constituencies. While Jan Suraj has suffered setbacks, BJP has successfully re-aligned several rebels with the party's vision.
Analysts suggest that these withdrawals have clarified that the contest for the second phase will now be more direct and competitive.
