Solidarity under strain in Bihar politics as RJD releases 143 candidates for Bihar Elections 2025. Tejashwi Yadav to contest from Raghopur; Congress adds six new names amid alliance tension.
With alliance solidarity showing cracks, RJD goes solo on 143 seats; Congress follows with six more candidates, while seat-sharing talks remain unresolved.
By Qalam Times News Network
Dateline: Patna | 20 October 2025
Patna: The idea of solidarity is being put to the test in Bihar’s political arena. On Monday, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) announced its list of 143 candidates for the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025, officially fielding Tejashwi Yadav from his traditional seat of Raghopur in Vaishali district. The timing is crucial—coming amid growing speculation of a rift within the Grand Alliance over seat distribution.
Despite repeated assurances of unity, the alliance’s solidarity looks increasingly fragile. The Congress, still negotiating its share of seats, released a smaller list of six candidates late Sunday, taking its total tally to sixty. So far, no formal seat-sharing formula has been signed between the RJD and Congress.
Bihar will vote in two phases—6 and 11 November—while results will be declared on 14 November. For the first phase, covering 121 constituencies, the last date for withdrawal of nominations ended at 3 PM on Monday. Election officials confirmed that 1,375 nomination papers were accepted by Sunday night.
The Congress’s latest list features Surendra Prasad Kushwaha (Valmiki Nagar), Abidur Rahman (Araria), Jaleel Mastan (Amaur), Tauseer Alam (Barari), Praveen Singh Kushwaha (Kahalgaon) and Vinod Chaudhary (Sikandra-SC). Party insiders say more names will be added once clarity emerges on the final alliance structure.
Meanwhile, RJD spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwari insisted that all is well within the alliance. “The leadership is keeping a close watch. The Congress must understand the local ground realities. We contest only in Bihar and Jharkhand, not elsewhere. These discussions are normal in any coalition,” he told ANI. He added that the solidarity within the alliance will “soon be visible on the ground.”
Certain constituencies—including Lalganj, Vaishali, Rajapakar, Rosera, Biharsharif, Bachhwara, Tarapur, Katumba, and Kahalgaon—could witness “friendly fights” between alliance partners, as both sides field candidates under mutual understanding. The nomination-withdrawal deadline for the second phase is 23 October.
Adding to the flux, Bihar continues to see a wave of political crossovers. Former MP and four-time MLA Sarfraz Alam, son of late Union Minister Mohammad Taslimuddin, joined Prashant Kishor’s Jana Suraj Party. Alam had previously represented Jokihaat four times—twice under RJD and twice under JDU. Similar shifts are visible across the state, with nine sitting MLAs now contesting under new affiliations.
As campaigns intensify, the central question remains whether the Grand Alliance can maintain its solidarity through polling day. For now, Tejashwi Yadav’s candidature from Raghopur signals that the RJD intends to lead from the front, even if it has to go it alone.
