The Congress released a list of 48 candidates late on Thursday for the Bihar assembly elections, capping weeks of gruelling negotiations with its key ally, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). The announcement, made just hours before Friday’s deadline for filing nominations in the first phase covering 121 constituencies on November 6, underscores the disarray within the opposition INDIA bloc as it also marks the first instance in recent times that a political alliance has plunged into chaos over seat allocations, threatening to fracture the grand anti-BJP front just as the campaign heats up.
The Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), led by Mukesh Sahni, has been allocated 15 seats after demanding 25-30; Sahni will file his nomination from Gaur Boram (Darbhanga) today. The shortfall has sparked frustration, with Sahni accusing larger allies of “feudal bargaining”.
The move comes against a backdrop of escalating tensions, with local Congress leaders blindsided by the AICC’s abrupt takeover of talks after Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) functionaries repeatedly failed to seal a deal.
“The AICC stepped in because our state unit couldn’t navigate the RJD’s intransigence,” a senior party source confided, speaking on condition of anonymity. Senior Bihar Congress leaders had hoped of contesting from at least 61 seats – a tally that includes the 70 they fought in 2020 and secured 19 seats, denting the NDA’s dominance in several pockets.
High-stakes parleys continue at the AICC headquarters in Delhi, with party insiders optimistic about clinching Maharajganj, Jale and Narkatiaganj – the hotly contested seats in the first phase.
The Congress party has chosen the constituencies with their mix of rural voters and migrant labour influences, where it has performed creditably in the 2020 assembly polls. However, the RJD remains adamant, staking claims not only on these but also on its traditional seat of Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur district, a seat rich in Yadav-Muslim demographics.
“We have waited long enough; these are our seats by right,” an RJD spokesperson shot back, hinting at retaliatory candidate announcements if concessions aren’t made.
The Congress list, announced by AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, focuses on first-phase battlegrounds, blending veterans and fresh faces with a tilt towards Scheduled Caste and Extremely Backward Class representation.
The nominees include Jayesh Mangal Singh (Bagaha), Amit Giri (Nautan), Abhishek Ranjan (Chanpatia), Wasi Ahmed (Bettiah), Shyam Bihari Prasad (Raxaul), Shashi Bhushan Rai (Govindganj), Amit Kumar Singh Tunna (Riga), Navin Kumar (Bathnaha – SC), Nalini Ranjan Jha (Benipatti), Subodh Mandal (Phulparas), Manoj Vishwas (Forbesganj), Prof Maswar Alam (Bahadurganj), Shakeel Ahmad Khan (Kadwa), Manohar Prasad Singh (Manihari – ST), Punam Paswan (Korha – SC), Sarita Devi (Sonbarsha – SC), Mithilesh Kumar Chaudhary (Benipur), Umesh Ram (Sakra – SC), Bijendra Chaudhary (Muzaffarpur), Om Prakash Garg (Gopalganj), Hari Narain Kushwah (Kuchaikote), Aditya Kumar Raja (Lalganj), Sanjeev Singh (Vaishali), Pratima Kumari (Raja Pakar – SC), Braj Kishore Ravi (Rosera – SC), Shiv Prakash Garib Das (Bachhwara), Amita Bhushan (Begusarai), Chandan Yadav (Khagaria), Mithlesh Kumar Nishad (Beldaur), Ajit Kumar Sharma (Bhagalpur), Lalan Yadav (Sultanganj), Jitendra Singh (Amarpur), Amresh Kumar ‘Anish’ (Lakhisarai), Trisuldhari Singh (Barbigha), Omair Khan (Bihar Sharif), Kaushlendra Kumar ‘Chhote Mukhiya’ (Nalanda), Arun Kumar Bind (Harnaut), Indradeep Chandravanshi (Kumhrar), Shashant Shekhar (Patna Sahib), Anil Kumar Singh (Bikram), Sanjay Kumar Tiwari (Buxar), Vishwanath Ram (Rajpur – SC), Mangal Ram (Chenari – SC), Santosh Mishra (Kargahar), Rajesh Ram (Kutumba – SC), Anand Shankar Singh (Aurangabad), Awadhesh Kumar Singh (Wazirganj) and Nitu Kumari (Hisua).
The absence of nominees for Maharajganj, Jale and Narkatiaganj suggests unresolved disputes with RJD, which insists on claiming these alongside Kahalgaon; Congress leader Vijay Shankar Dubey had won the Maharajganj seat in 2020. Tensions have also alienated smaller allies like the Left parties, who are frustrated over unmet demands for 15-20 seats.
Meanwhile, Pasupati Kumar Paras’s Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) quit the INDIA bloc on Friday, citing “betrayal” in seat-sharing talks, and allied with AIMIM to contest 20-25 seats in Seemanchal and Magadh. This could split the minority vote, weakening Congress-RJD prospects.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son Tejashwi Yadav is reportedly en route to Delhi for a meeting with Rahul Gandhi.
“Unity is our only weapon; discord is (CM) Nitish’s delight,” said a Congress observer.
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