The Janata Dal (United) released its first list of 57 candidates on Wednesday for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, following days of internal discussions about seat-sharing within the NDA alliance. This list is a key step in JD(U)’s preparations for the elections, setting the tone for a fiercely contested battle.

Among the notable names is Anant Singh, who will contest from the politically significant Mokama constituency. JD(U) also announced candidates for four constituencies previously claimed by Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), signaling a strategic effort to strengthen its position within the NDA framework.

The party has approved several important candidates, including JD(U) state chief Umesh Kushwaha from Mahanar, Bihar’s Rural Development Minister Shravan Kumar from Nalanda, and Sunil Kumar from Bhore (SC). Further candidate announcements are expected in the coming days.

Earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its first list of 71 candidates on Tuesday. The BJP’s Central Election Committee has endorsed prominent leaders such as Mangal Pandey for Siwan, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha for Lakhisarai, Samrat Chaudhary for Tarapur, and others including Tarkishore Prasad, Ramkripal Yadav, and Renu Devi for key constituencies.

Meanwhile, the Jan Suraaj Party, a relatively new entrant, released a list of 65 candidates on Monday, aiming to offer broad representation across various communities. Party founder Prashant Kishor emphasized that the list reflects proportional representation: out of 116 names, 25 are reserved seats; among the 91 general category seats, 31 are for the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC), 21 for Other Backward Classes (OBC), and 21 for the Muslim community.

The election schedule has been announced by the Election Commission, with Bihar voting in two phases on November 6 and November 11, and results set to be declared on November 14. The final electoral roll includes about 7.42 crore voters.

Within the NDA, seat-sharing has been finalized: BJP and JD(U) will each contest 101 seats, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas faction) will contest 29, while Rashtriya Lok Morcha and Hindustani Awam Morcha will get six seats each. The opposition Mahagathbandhan, however, is yet to finalize its seat-sharing arrangement.

JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha stated that Nitish Kumar, the party chief and sitting Chief Minister, will kick off the campaign on Thursday. He also confirmed that JD(U) will release a second list of candidates soon.

With the election date nearing, all parties are gearing up for a tough and competitive contest in Bihar’s 243-seat assembly.