Who is Satish Kumar Yadav? BJP’s candidate from RJD-dominated Raghopur seat, against Tejashwi Yadav in Bihar elections 2025

Satish Kumar Yadav

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday released its third and final list of 18 candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections 2025, completing the announcement of nominees for all 101 seats allotted to it under the NDA seat-sharing pact. Among the key names is Satish Kumar Yadav, who will contest from the high-stakes Raghopur seat against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.

The elections will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11. Earlier, the party had released two lists, the first with 71 names and the second with 12, featuring leaders such as Deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, State Minister Nitin Nabin, and Renu Devi. The BJP has also fielded folk singer Maithili Thakur from Alinagar.

Other NDA allies have also finalised their lists. The JD(U), led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, will contest 101 seats, while the Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas) has been allotted 29. The RLSP and HAM have been given six seats each.

Satish Kumar Yadav, a member of the Yadhuvanshi community, began his political career with the RJD before joining Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) in 2005. His first electoral contest from Raghopur in 2005 ended in defeat to Rabri Devi, but in 2010, he pulled off a major upset by defeating her by a margin of 13,006 votes. Satish secured 64,222 votes against Rabri Devi’s 51,216. However, he later lost the 2015 Assembly election to Tejashwi Yadav.

His political journey and caste base make him a significant contender for the BJP in Raghopur, a constituency long regarded as an RJD bastion.

Located in the Vaishali district, Raghopur is among Bihar’s most high-profile constituencies, having produced multiple chief ministers and deputy chief ministers. The Yadav family’s dominance here is evident. Lalu Prasad Yadav won from the seat in 1995 and 2000, Rabri Devi secured three terms, and Tejashwi Yadav has represented Raghopur since 2015.

The constituency’s demographics are tilted in favour of the Yadav community, which makes up nearly 31% of the population. Alongside Yadavs, the Rajput community also holds considerable influence. The region, which includes the Raghopur and Bidupur blocks, has historically witnessed fierce contests between the RJD, JD(U), and BJP.

With Satish Kumar Yadav returning to challenge Tejashwi Yadav once again, Raghopur is set for a high-voltage rematch in Bihar’s 2025 Assembly polls.