The Congress on Wednesday night announced the names of 16 candidates for the forthcoming Bihar Legislative Assembly elections scheduled for November 6 and 11, even though its seat-sharing arrangements with Mahagathbandhan allies remain unresolved.
The party’s Central Election Committee, meeting in Delhi, sealed the first list of 16 names for select constituencies. Simultaneously, a sub-committee was constituted to finalise nominations on the remaining seats still in contention. The announcement came ahead of the last date for filing nominations in the first phase, scheduled for October 17.
With Bihar’s political alliances in flux, the Congress move is widely seen as an attempt to signal firmness in its own candidate selection process, rather than await internal consensus with partners. The Mahagathbandhan continues to face friction at several points of negotiation. For instance, the RJD has reportedly resisted conceding certain seats to Congress, even suggesting that giving 76 seats to Congress would amount to resigning to a loss.
At the CEC meeting chaired by party president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leaders including K C Venugopal deliberated over multiple candidate claims. Sources indicated that on around ten constituencies, rival aspirants within Congress were contesting for the same ticket, adding pressure to finalise names. The newly formed sub-committee will be led by Ajay Maken and is expected to resolve disputes imminently.
By the time of the meeting, Congress had already cleared 25 candidatures in earlier rounds, bringing the running total to 41 seats. The newly announced 16 bring that number to 57. However, with 243 constituencies in Bihar and much of the Mahagathbandhan seat sharing yet to be settled, major decisions remain pending.
Party workers in Bihar have expressed frustration over perceived imbalances in ticket distribution. Some youth leaders have alleged that nepotism is at play, arguing that a disproportionate share of tickets is being reserved for the sons and relatives of established leaders rather than grassroots workers.
Meanwhile, the BJP has completed its candidate list for all 101 seats it is contesting under the NDA pact, issuing a third list of 18 names. This includes a mix of new entrants and outgoing MLAs who have been dropped from the ticket. The NDA’s seat-sharing deal, announced earlier, allocates 101 seats each to BJP and JD, with smaller allies like LJP, RLM and HAM also receiving quotas.
Tensions within the NDA have surfaced too, with Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha declaring that “nothing is well” in the alliance. Jitan Ram Manjhi has threatened to field candidates against Chirag Paswan’s party on two seats, reflecting dissent within the bloc.
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