The Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) has officially revealed its second list of candidates for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, announcing nominees for 65 seats. This brings the total number of candidates declared by the party to 116 out of the state’s 243 constituencies. However, a significant point of interest is the absence of party leader Prashant Kishor from this list, despite earlier expectations that he might contest from the Raghopur seat.
In the latest announcement, key nominations include Niraj Singh for Sheohar, Md Ekramul Haque for Thakurganj in Kishanganj, Amir Haider for Bhadurpur in Darbhanga, and Durga Prasad Singh for Ujarpur in Samastipur.
Addressing the media, Kishor stated, “We announced candidates for 51 seats in the first list, and in this second list, we have named nominees for 65 seats. The remaining candidates will be announced later.” He highlighted that the JSP was the first political party to release its candidate list, aiming to offer fresh choices to voters while maintaining a balance in social representation, a crucial factor in Bihar’s political landscape.
Kishor also shared demographic details of the announced candidates, noting that 31 belong to extremely weaker sections, 21 are from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and 21 are Muslim candidates. Among the earlier selections were KC Sinha, former Vice-Chancellor of Patna and Nalanda Open Universities, and retired IPS officer RK Mishra.
This development follows closely on the heels of the ruling NDA in Bihar announcing its seat-sharing formula for the elections. The NDA has allocated 101 seats each to the BJP and JD(U), with the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) receiving 29 seats, and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) getting six seats each.