The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demonstrated a strong commitment to its proven social engineering strategy for the upcoming elections in Bihar. A senior party official revealed that the initial list of candidates features over 60% representation from marginalized communities, including Dalits, backward classes, and extremely backward classes, alongside a notable number of women candidates.
“We have ensured that all communities are represented, with a special focus on those who have been historically disadvantaged, often referred to as the Dalit, Vanchit, and Pichda groups,” stated the functionary. The first list, comprising 71 candidates, includes 20 individuals from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), 11 from extremely backward classes, and eight women.
The BJP, contesting 101 seats, has also nominated six candidates from Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) communities. Within the 71 candidates, there are 11 Bhumihars, 7 Brahmins, and 15 Rajputs, with representation also extended to communities like Kayasthas and Marwaris.
Highlighting the party’s commitment, another party functionary noted, “Over the past 11 years, under the NDA’s governance at the center and with Nitish Kumar leading the state, there has been a deliberate focus on social welfare schemes aimed at the poor and marginalized. This includes a concerted effort to provide political platforms for representatives of these communities. Today’s candidate list is a testament to that commitment.”
The BJP has also focused on balancing experience with new talent, departing from its previous approach of replacing a significant percentage of sitting representatives. “We made a conscious effort to ensure a healthy mix of experienced leaders and new faces in our candidate selection,” mentioned the first functionary.
Notable new entrants include Sanjay Gupta replacing Arun Sinha in Kumhrar, Sunil Kumar Pintu stepping in for Mithilesh Kumar in Sitamarhi, Ratnesh Khushwah being fielded from Patna Sahib in place of Nandkishore Yadav, and Sujeet Paswan replacing Ram Rit Paswan in Rajnagar.
While the party has exchanged seats with ally Janata Dal United (JDU) in Tarapur and Teghra, it has largely maintained its existing seat allocations for other declared candidates.
Political analyst A.K. Jha commented that the BJP’s candidate list reflects a strategic effort to balance the support base between so-called upper castes and marginalized communities. He observed, “There’s a common perception that upper castes are BJP supporters. However, this group also voices concerns when they feel underserved. This election sees increased competition for the upper-caste vote, with Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) also actively seeking their support by offering more tickets.”
Jha further added that the BJP has effectively adopted the social engineering tactics previously mastered by the RJD. The BJP’s targeted interventions have successfully garnered support from marginalized castes, OBCs, and EBCs.