Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 Live Updates: Jan Suraaj releases another list of 65 candidates for the upcoming Bihar elections

The Jan Suraaj Party, led by Prashant Kishor, on Monday announced its second list of candidates for the upcoming Bihar polls, naming candidates for 65 seats.

The list includes candidates for 19 reserved seats (18 SC and 1 ST) and 46 general seats.

The party said that as per its commitment to provide representation to various sections in proportion to their population in the state, the second list has 14 candidates from the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), 10 candidates from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), 11 from the general category, and 14 from the minority community.

In line with the promise to field capable Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates on general seats, a SC candidate has been nominated from the Harnaut assembly constituency.

The initial list of candidates, released on October 9, had names of 51 candidates for Bihar assembly election.

Jan Suraaj Party has taken a lead over its rivals in declaring candidates. While NDA has decided seat distribution among its constituents, Mahagathbandhan is yet to do so. The Election Commission on Monday issued a notification for the second phase of the assembly polls in the state.

Bihar will go to the polls on November 6 and November 11 and votes will be counted on November 14.

The total number of electors in the final list stands at 7.42 crore.

Under the arrangement, the BJP and JD(U) will contest 101 seats each, while the Lok Janshakti Party (headed by Ram Vilas) will contest 29 seats.

The Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) will contest six seats each.

On Mahagathbandhan's list, AICC In-charge for Bihar, Krishna Allavaru said, "List will come out after finalisation of the seat-sharing...Our effort is to ensure a good Government for the people of Bihar. So, the alliance should not suffer a loss, and Bihar should benefit..."

The phrase “Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram” may have originated in Haryana, but Bihar’s Magadh region has taken political defection to new heights. Here, shifting loyalties have become a defining feature of political life with leaders frequently changing sides in pursuit of relevance or power.

Leading this league of serial defectors is former Union minister Nagmani, who now styles himself as Nagmani Kushwaha. Over the decades, he has switched parties more than a dozen times – an unmatched feat even by Bihar’s fluid political standards.

On NDA finalizing it's seat-sharing for the Bihar Assembly elections, Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said, "We had demanded a minimum of eight seats for recognition as a registered party....Therefore, we requested at least 15 seats, but they allotted only six. Even so, we are satisfied. We stand with Narendra Modi Ji, who has given us significant respect and support for the development of Gaya, Bihar, and the country. We are ready to make any sacrifice for this."

Ahead of Bihar elections, Congress leader Manoj Kumar said, "We have full faith in our leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Lalu Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav. We request that they finalise and announce the seat-sharing arrangement as soon as possible. No matter what they (NDA) do, the people of Bihar are ready to remove them (NDA) and bring 'maha parivartan'. "

As the Bihar assembly elections heat up, political parties are leaving no stone unturned to reach voters across the state’s sprawling terrain. In a campaign that promises speed, spectacle and sky-high drama, helicopters and chartered flights have emerged as indispensable weapons in the electoral arsenal.

Over a dozen flying machines are expected to crisscross the state, ferrying leaders and candidates to far-flung constituencies with precision timing.

On the seat allocation in NDA, Bihar BJP President Dilip Jaiswal said, "The NDA alliance has announced the seat-sharing arrangement. I have been saying from the beginning that we five 'Pandavas' will contest the Bihar assembly elections with complete unity. We have announced the seat-sharing arrangement first and will start announcing the candidates from this evening."

On the seat allocation in NDA, RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha said, "I am seeing it as 142 and 101. BJP+ is 142 and JDU is 101... Nitish Kumar has been telling the BJP for many years that we are the big brother. The entire role of the big brother has been meticulously destroyed by their own people..."

An FIR was lodged on Sunday for alleged violation of the model code of conduct (MCC), in force in poll-bound Bihar, during the much-publicised campaign of Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor in RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav's Raghopur assembly constituency a day ago, police said.

According to Hajipur Deputy Superintendent of Police Subodh Kumar, the FIR was lodged at Raghopur Police Station of Vaishali district, though Kishor was not named as an accused.

"Permission for the programme had been obtained by Satendra Prasad Singh. Hence, he has been named in the FIR lodged for MCC violation", said the Deputy SP, without divulging further details.

He, however, added that more names may be added in the FIR once the sub-divisional officer of Hajipur, who is touring the places Kishor had visited on Saturday, completes his probe.

On seat-sharing in the Mahagathbandhan for Bihar Assembly Elections, former Chhattisgarh CM and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel said, "It will be done by today or tomorrow. Preparations have been made. It will be done soon."

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to release its first list of candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections on Monday in Patna, reported ANI.

The announcement follows a meeting of the BJP Central Election Committee (CEC) in Delhi on Sunday, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP National President JP Nadda.

According to a top party source, as quoted by ANI, “The party is likely to announce its first list of candidates tomorrow (Monday) in Patna. Today (Sunday), we discussed almost all seats, and names have been finalised for most of them.”

"I want to congratulate them, at last, they have announced the 'thagbandhan', they will now embark to cheat people of Bihar. But people will not be cheated this time, they have found their way, hence no matter on how many seats they will fight, it will not matter. This time, people will make their own arrangement, which is Jan Suraaj," he said.

"NDA is such an alliance that, even in adverse circumstances, has always handled seat sharing in a very respectful manner by beautifully listening to the concerns of all its constituent parties... We are strong partners of NDA... Our national president is happy that LJP's concerns have been heard and seats have been allocated to them respectfully," she said.

"What has Manjhi ji been saying over the past 15 days? His community was allocated 6 seats in the NDA. Upendra Kushwaha got 6 seats, indicating NDA assigned this many to the Kushwaha community. Does this mean the Kushwaha community is worth only 6 seats in Bihar? Is the Manjhi community, comprising 3% of Bihar's voters, only entitled to 6 seats? This was done because preparations were underway in the NDA to deal with these people... Jitan Ram Manjhi asked for respect, so did he receive it with 6 seats? Did Kushwaha get respect at 6 seats? Did Chirag Paswan, who wanted 40 seats, get respect at 29?" he said.

"The auspicious beginning of this victory campaign has been made...and this is a splendid start... We will fight together with full strength and register a big victory," he said.

"What the high command decided, we accept, but by giving six seats, they have undervalued us, it may have repercussions in NDA," he said.

The opposition Mahagathbandhan in Bihar is expected to finalise its seat-sharing soon and could announce its candidates and a joint manifesto later this week. Discussions between the RJD and Congress are ongoing, with a leadership meeting possible on Monday as RJD leaders Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav are in the national capital, PTI reported citing sources.

The NDA on Sunday announced its seat-sharing for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, with the BJP and JDU set to contest 101 seats each. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will field candidates in 29 seats, while the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLM) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) will contest six seats each. Union education minister and BJP MP shared the update on X, saying the agreement was reached in a cordial atmosphere and welcomed by workers and leaders of all NDA parties.

"We have been maintaining that liquor prohibition in the state will be lifted immediately, if Jan Suraaj is voted to power in Bihar in the upcoming assembly polls. The state will be able to save nearly Rs 28,000 crore revenue loss…which will be utilised to raise loans to the tune of Rs 5 to Rs 6 lakh crore from the World Bank and IMF," he said.

"Saurav is well-versed in finance and law. He worked as country head of securitisation in a private bank in India…We will use his expertise in raising loans to the tune of Rs 5 lakh crore to Rs 6 lakh crore from the World Bank and the IMF from the state's revenue, which will be saved after lifting liquor prohibition in Bihar," he added.

"Our dedicated workers are working with full energy to ensure the victory of BJP-NDA in Bihar. Interacting with such dedicated workers always provides new inspiration. On October 15, I will get the opportunity to directly interact with such hard-working workers," PM Modi said.

“The seat-sharing announcement will be made in a day or two. He(Mukesh Sahan) will naturally field candidates in the seats allocated to him. There is no resentment within the alliance - all is well,” said Congress Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Singh on the Bihar elections. (PTI)

Senior BJP leaders from Bihar, including state president Dilip Jaiswal and former provincial chiefs Samrat Choudhary and Mangal Pandey, are in Delhi holding meetings with top party leadership and alliance partners to finalize seat-sharing arrangements ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections.

Addressing reporters in the national capital, Jaiswal said, “It is unfortunate that social media is flooded with imaginary seat-sharing figures. Our ally Upendra Kushwaha has expressed concern. Let all be informed that talks are still ongoing and an announcement is likely by tomorrow.”

Upendra Kushwaha, a Rajya Sabha MP and head of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, had reacted to media reports suggesting his party might receive only a single-digit share of seats in the 243-member assembly.

For many migrant workers from Bihar employed in Tamil Nadu, travelling over 2,000 km back home to cast their votes in the upcoming two-phase Bihar Assembly elections in early November remains nearly impossible.

Insecure jobs and long working hours make it difficult for these workers to take time off. Families who have relocated across Tamil Nadu for low-paying employment also consider travel impractical during the poll season.

“Most of us in the construction sector stay at the site, cook our own food, and eat there. We rarely go out. We work on holidays and sometimes past sunset to earn a little extra for our families,” said Ajay Kumar, a construction worker, as quoted by PTI.

Janata Dal (United) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha said on Saturday that the NDA government in Bihar will be formed under CM Nitish Kumar on November 14, following the Bihar Assembly election results.

The elections are scheduled for November 6 and 11, with counting of votes on November 14. Jha emphasized that the NDA will contest the polls unitedly.

As political activity intensifies ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor visited Raghopur, one of the state’s high-profile constituencies, to meet and interact with local residents.

Speaking to ANI during his visit, Kishor said his aim was to understand public sentiment and hear directly from the people.

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Central Election Committee (CEC) is likely to meet on Sunday to discuss candidates and strategies for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, sources said.

On Saturday, a meeting of senior National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders was held at the residence of BJP president and Union Minister JP Nadda. Among those present were Union home minister Amit Shah, Union minister and Hindustan Awam Morcha (Secular) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi, Bihar BJP in-charge Vinod Tawde, Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal, and Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary.