Bihar polls: Congress sets the ball rolling, starts announcing candidates

In a surprise political gambit, the Congress on Wednesday night, 15 October, began unveiling its list of candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections — even before sealing the seat-sharing pact with its Mahagathbandhan allies.

The announcements, made through the party’s Bihar unit on X, came cascading in one after another, with state Congress president Rajesh Ram leading the charge as the nominee from the Kutumba constituency. Photographs accompanying the posts showed jubilant candidates receiving their party nomination certificates — a digital roll call of confidence even as alliance negotiations lingered in Delhi’s corridors of power.

Talks between the Congress and its allies, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), are still underway, with no formal seat-sharing arrangement yet inked or announced. The bold move came on a day when RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav filed his nomination from the Raghopur seat, setting the stage for a heated contest as Bihar inches closer to polling day.

According to the series of announcements, Shashi Shekhar Singh will contest from Wazirganj, Kaushlendra Kumar alias Chhote Mukhiya from Nalanda, Trishuldhari Singh from Barbeegha, and Pratima Das from Rajapakad. The party has fielded Shashi Bhushan Rai alias Gappu Rai from Govindganj, Vijendra Chaudhary from Muzaffarpur, and Om Parkash Garg from Gopalganj.

Other names on the Congress roster include Jitendra Singh (Amarpur), Amita Bhushan (Begusarai), Lallan Kumar (Sultanganj), and B.K. Ravi, the INDIA bloc candidate from Rosda. Prakash Garib Das, the energetic state Youth Congress president, will take the plunge from Bachhwada, while Anand Shekhar Singh will represent the party in Aurangabad.

Expressing gratitude, Rajesh Ram thanked the leadership for its faith in him, while the Bihar Congress congratulated all its nominees, calling them “soldiers of change” in the upcoming polls.

The Bihar Assembly elections will unfold in two phases on 6 and 11 November, with counting scheduled for 14 November — a date when the political fate of many will be sealed, and alliances tested in the crucible of democracy.

With PTI inputs