Bihar election: Congress clears names of 18 candidates, says report

Voting for the Bihar election will take place November 6 and 11, and votes will be counted November 14.

As amid rumours of seat-sharing tussle in Mahagathbandhan, the Congress has reportedly cleared names of 18 candidates and formed a sub-committee to finalise names for the remaining seats.

According to a report by Indian Express, the decisions were made at a Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting that lasted more than three hours.

The meeting at the Congress office on Akbar Road was chaired by party president Mallikarjun Kharge. The last date for filing for the nomination for the first phase of elections is Friday.

Sources told IE that there were at least 10 seats where multiple candidates  were competing for party tickets. Thus the party  formed a sub-committee which will be headed by Rajya Sabha member Ajay Maken. “There are several seats where there are differences with the RJD, and there are some where there are multiple Congress candidates,” said a source present at Tuesday’s meeting.

While the NDA finalised its seat sharing on Sunday, the Opposition INDIA bloc is struggling to reach a consensus.

“The sub-committee will meet tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9 am to hold discussion on these seats,” the source told IE.

AICC in-charge for Bihar Krishna Allavaru told ANI  the party will soon announce its list of candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. "We will soon announce the names of candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly Elections... Our priority seats got cleared in the CEC meeting. There is clarity in the Mahagathbandhan," said Krishna Allavaru.

It was earlier reported that the seat-sharing talks between the two parties were stuck because of five seats — Baisi (Purnea), Bahadurganj (Kishanganj), Raniganj (Araria), Kahalgaon (Bhagalpur), and Saharsa.

Polling for Bihar's 243 Assembly seats will be held in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with counting scheduled for November 14. Political parties have intensified preparations for the elections, with campaigning expected to pick up momentum in the coming days. The last date for filing nominations for the first phase is October 17.