Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal (United) on Wednesday announced 57 candidates in its first list for the upcoming assembly elections. The party has dropped several sitting MLAs and introduced 30 new faces. Among the 27 candidates re-nominated are the party’s loyal and long-serving leaders, including five ministers.
Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar’s decision to introduce 30 fresh faces is seen as a strategic move to counter anti-incumbency. The party has also given ample opportunity to youth. In a surprising move, it has fielded only four women candidates.
The party has also tried to maintain social and caste balance in ticket distribution. Notably, 23 candidates have been given tickets from the JD(U)’s stronghold Lav-Kush (Kushwaha and Koeri) community, 12 from the Dalit community, and nine from the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC).
At the same time, effort has been made to give proper representation to the upper-caste community as well.
The five ministers fielded by the party are Ratnesh Sada from Sonbarsa (SC), Madan Sahni from Bahadurpur, Sunil Kumar from Bhore (SC), Vijay Kumar Chaudhary from Sarairanjan, and Shravan Kumar from Nalanda. The party has also fielded its long-time loyalist Hari Narayan Singh from Harnaut.
The list includes turncoat politicians who have recently joined the party. RJD’s sitting MLA from Parsa, Chhote Lal Rai, who recently joined JD(U), will now contest on a JD(U) ticket. He has replaced Chandrika Rai. Rajkumar Singh, who defected from LJP (Ram Vilas), has been nominated from Matihani.
The party’s sitting MLA from Barbigha, Sudarshan Kumar, has been denied a ticket, and Dr. Kumar Pushpanjay will contest in his place. The party has also dropped Aman Bhushan Hajari from Kusheshwar Asthan. He has been replaced by Atirek Kumar.
The party has also fielded three ‘bahubalis’ (strongmen) — Amarendra Kumar Pandey from Kuchaikote; Dhumal Singh from Ekma; and Anant Singh from Mokama. Interestingly, Anant Singh filed his nomination even before the first list of JD(U) candidates was announced.
While the BJP frequently raises objections about dynastic politics, Nitish Kumar did not shy away from patronising the children of prominent leaders.
The party has fielded former MP Prabhunath Singh’s son, Randhir Singh, from Manjhi. It has also nominated Komal Singh, daughter of LJP (Ram Vilas) MP Veena Devi and JD(U) MLC Dinesh Singh, from Gaighat. In 2020, Chirag’s LJP (Ram Vilas) contested from this seat.
Amid the ongoing tussle with LJP (Ram Vilas) over seat selection, the JD(U) has fielded its candidates from constituencies where Chirag Paswan had earlier announced his party’s intention to contest, including those where LJP (Ram Vilas) had fielded candidates in 2020, setting the stage for a direct confrontation with Chirag.
Out of the nine seats Chirag Paswan had sought for his party, the JD(U) has announced candidates in four, Vidyasagar Singh Nishad from Morwa, Ratnesh Sada from Sonbarsa (SC), Kaushal Kishor from Rajgir (SC), and Rajkumar Singh from Matihani. Even from Alauli (SC), Chirag Paswan’s home turf, JD(U) has fielded its own candidate, Ramchandra Sada.