Bihar Assembly Elections 2025: From Tejashwi Yadav to Samrat Choudhary, key candidates in Phase 1
After weeks of intense campaigning, filled with rallies and personal attacks, the election campaign officially concluded on Tuesday evening. The stakes are particularly high in this phase, with several prominent political figures contesting crucial seats.
Bihar is all set for the first phase of assembly elections today, where 3.75 crore voters will determine the fate of 1,314 candidates. Voting in this phase will take place at 45,341 polling stations across 121 constituencies.
After weeks of intense campaigning, filled with rallies and personal attacks, the election campaign officially concluded on Tuesday evening. The stakes are particularly high in this phase, with several prominent political figures contesting crucial seats.
The RJD has joined forces with the Congress, Left parties, and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) under the Mahagathbandhan banner, while the BJP has forged an alliance with the Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) to contest as part of the NDA.
The Election Commission has ensured all arrangements are in place for a smooth and fair voting process.
Bihar Assembly Election: Check key candidates in fray
Tejashwi Yadav(RJD): Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav will contest the Raghopur seat as the Mahagathbandhan candidate. He has represented this constituency for the past two terms and is also the coalition’s chief ministerial face.
In this election, he will face NDA candidate Satish Kumar and Chanchal Kumar of the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP).
Samrat Choudhary (BJP): Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary will contest the Tarapur seat as the NDA candidate, while the Mahagathbandhan has fielded RJD’s Arun Shah against him. Choudhary, currently an MLC, is entering electoral politics after a gap of 15 years.
The Tarapur constituency is expected to witness a closely fought contest, as Arun Shah had narrowly lost to JDU’s Rajeev Kumar Singh by just 3,852 votes in the 2021 bypoll. Meanwhile, Jan Suraaj has nominated Dr Santosh Singh to contest from the seat.
Vijay Kumar Sinha (BJP): BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha has been nominated by the NDA to contest from Lakhisarai. Sinha made history as BJP’s first-ever Speaker in Bihar after the party came to power in alliance with the JD(U) in 2020. He has maintained a stronghold in Lakhisarai, securing victory in the last three consecutive elections.
Sinha will be contesting against Congress leader Amaresh Kumar and Jan Suraaj Party (JSP)'s Suraj Kumar.
Tej Pratap Yadav (JJD): Ousted RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav is contesting the Mahua seat as a candidate of the Janshakti Janata Dal, a party he formed after being expelled from the Rashtriya Janata Dal by his father, Lalu Prasad Yadav. The RJD has fielded Mukesh Raushan against him, with Tej Pratap’s brother, Tejashwi Yadav, even holding a public meeting in support of the RJD candidate in Mahua. Tej Pratap had previously won this seat in 2015 and is currently serving as the MLA from Hasanpur.
Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (JDU): Janata Dal (United) leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary has been fielded by the NDA from Sarairanjan. A senior JDU leader and current Cabinet Minister in the Nitish Kumar-led government, Chaudhary has won this seat in three consecutive elections. He has also served as Bihar Assembly Speaker and as President of the party’s state unit.
He will face competition from Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Arbind Kumar Sahani and Jan Suraaj Party’s Sajan Kumar Mishra.
Anant Kumar Singh (JDU): The NDA has fielded Anant Kumar Singh from Mokama. Singh, popularly known as “Chhote Sarkar,” is currently in judicial custody in connection with the murder of a Jan Suraaj supporter during an election campaign. He previously won the Mokama seat in February 2005, October 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020, contesting the last election on an RJD ticket.
A bypoll was held in Mokama in 2022 after Singh was convicted under the Arms Act and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In that bypoll, Nilam Devi, Singh’s wife, won the seat on an RJD ticket.
This time, Singh will have a faceoff with Rashtriya Janata Dal's Veena Devi, and Jan Suraaj Party's Priyadarshi Piyush.
Ram Kripal Yadav (BJP): The NDA has fielded Ram Kripal Yadav from Danapur. Yadav, a former member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and a close confidant of Lalu Prasad Yadav, later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He has served as Minister of State in the Narendra Modi-led central government and has previously been a member of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and the State Legislative Council.
In the upcoming election, he will face Rit Lal Ray of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Umesh Singh Kushwaha (JDU): Janata Dal (United) leader Umesh Singh Kushwaha, who currently serves as the party’s state president, has been announced as the NDA candidate from Mahnar. He will face off against Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Ravindra Kumar Singh, Janshakti Janta Dal’s Jai Singh and Jan Suraaj Party’s Rajesh Kumar.
Shrawan Kumar (JDU): The NDA has announced Shrawan Kumar as its coalition candidate from Nalanda. A veteran politician and current cabinet minister in the Bihar government, Kumar has been winning from this constituency consecutively since 1995.
He will face stiff competition from Congress leader Kaushalendra Kumar and Kumari Poonam Sinha of the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP).
Maithili Thakur (BJP): The NDA has fielded 25-year-old trained classical and folk singer Maithili Thakur from Alinagar. Thakur, who joined the BJP in October, was included in the party’s first list of 71 candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections.
She will face a tough contest against RJD’s Binod Mishra and JSP’s Biplav Kumar Chowdhary.
Khesari Lal Yadav (RJD): Bhojpuri singer Khesari Lal Yadav has been fielded by the Mahagathbandhan from the Chapra constituency. He, along with his wife, joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) just days before the announcement.
The main contenders against him are Chhoti Kumari of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and JP Singh of the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP).
Shyam Rajak (JDU): The NDA has fielded Shyam Rajak from the Phulwari seat. Rajak has represented this constituency consecutively from 1995 to 2015 and has also served as a cabinet minister in Bihar.
His main challengers include Gopal Ravidas of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation and Shashi Kant Prasad of the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP).
Sanjay Saraogi (BJP): The NDA has nominated Sanjay Saraogi from Darbhanga, who currently serves as a Cabinet Minister in the Nitish Kumar-led government. He faces opposition in the upcoming polls from Rakesh Mishra of Jan Suraaj and Umesh Sahani of the Vikassheel Insaan Party.
Bhai Virendra (RJD): Bhai Virendra, the sitting MLA from Maner, has been fielded by the Mahagathbandhan to contest the upcoming election from Maner. A seasoned politician, Virendra has represented the Maner seat on four previous occasions and is a prominent spokesperson for the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar.
He faces competition from Jitendra Yadav of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Sandip Kumar Singh, alias Gopal Sandeep Singh, of the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP).
Maheshwar Hazari (JDU): The NDA has nominated Maheshwar Hazari, the current minister in Nitish Kumar's government, as their candidate from Kalyanpur. He faces competition from Ranjeet Kumar Ram of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) and Ram Balak Paswan of the Jan Suraaj Party.
ALSO READ: