JDU has released its first list of 57 candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections-2025. They have chosen three strongmen: Anant Singh from Mokama, Dhumal Singh from Ekma, and Amarendra Pandey from Kuchaikot.
Notably, there are no Muslim candidates in this list. The party has included ten candidates from Scheduled Castes, six current ministers, and four women.
JDU is competing for five seats that Chirag Paswan has claimed: Sonbarsa, Alauli, Rajgir, Ekma, and Morba. They have repeated 18 current MLAs, while two MLAs, Aditya Kumar from Sakra and Sudarshan Kumar from Barbigha, will not run again.
Nitish Kumar gives up his seat for Samrat Chaudhary
Nitish Kumar has given up his usual seat for Samrat Chaudhary, who will now run for the BJP. The Parbatta seat, which JDU held in 2020, has also been left for their alliance partner.
Krishna Murari Sharan, who won by just 12 votes in 2020, has been renominated from Hilsa. He is replacing the son of Minister Vijay Chaudhary, who will now run instead.
Despite rumors about Minister Maheshwar Hazari losing his ticket, the party has decided to support him again. He will run from Kalyanpur, along with other candidates from different areas.
In the last elections, JDU won 43 seats, placing third after RJD and BJP. The NDA will continue to support Nitish Kumar as their leader for the upcoming elections in 2025. There was some initial uncertainty about his leadership, but now senior BJP leaders have confirmed their backing. Chirag Paswan's party and Jitan Ram Manjhi have agreed to contest under Nitish Kumar's leadership as well.