BJP releases second list with 12 candidates; Maithili Thakur to contest from Alinagar in Darbhanga

The Nitish Kumar-led JDU also released its first list of 57 candidates for the upcoming Bihar election

The BJP on Wednesday released its second list of 12 candidates for the Bihar assembly election. This  includes two women candidates,  including folk singer Maithili Thakur who joined the party on Tuesday.

The brings  the party’s total declared candidates to 83 out of 101 seats it will contest for the two-phase election on November 6 and 11.

Former IPS officer Anand Mishra will contest from the Buxar seat. Mishra ecently joined the party after quitting Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraj. He will contest from the same constituency he had been eyeing as an independent candidate earlier. Other key names in the list include Ranjan Kumar from Muzaffarpur — replacing sitting MLA Suresh Sharma — Ram Chandra Prasad from Hayaghat, Subhash Singh from Gopalganj, and Chhoti Kumari from Baniapur.

The party on Tuesday released its first list of 71 candidates, fielding Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha from Tarapur and Lakhisarai seats, respectively, and six state ministers.

The JDU (Janata Dal United) also released its first list on Wednesday, announcing the names of 57 candidates. JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha on Wednesday said party president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is set to begin the poll campaignon Thursday.

For the 243-member assembly, the BJP and the JD(U) will contest on 101 seats each. Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ramvilas) got a big slice, with a share of 29 seats. Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM got a share of six seats each.