The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) officially announced its full list of 143 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections on Monday, October 20, 2025. Notably, five of these candidates will face rivals from other parties within the INDIA bloc itself.
Out of the total 143 candidates, the RJD has shown a commitment to diversity by nominating 24 women and 16 Muslim individuals.
This comprehensive list was made public just hours before the closure of nominations for the second and concluding phase of the elections.
The announcement also dispelled earlier rumors that the RJD intended to challenge the Kutumba seat, currently held by state Congress president Rajesh Kumar Ram, a move that would have caused significant friction between the two allied parties.
Despite avoiding a clash in Kutumba, the RJD will still find itself in direct competition with the Congress in the constituencies of Vaishali, Lalganj, and Kahalgaon. Additionally, they will contest against former State Minister Mukesh Sahni’s Vikassheel Insan Party in Tarapur and Gaura Boram.
Prominent candidates on the RJD’s list include Tejashwi Yadav (Raghopur), Alok Mehta (Ujiyarpur), Mukesh Raushan (Mahua), and Akhtarul Islam Shahin (Samastipur), all of whom are incumbents defending their current seats.
Bhola Yadav, a close aide to RJD president Lalu Prasad, will attempt to reclaim the Bahadurpur seat. Yadav had won this constituency in 2015 but lost it five years later to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U). He now seeks to win it back from the current Minister, Madan Sahni.
Awadh Bihari Chaudhary, a former Speaker who suffered a defeat against a JD(U) newcomer in last year’s Lok Sabha polls while contesting from Siwan, will now aim to hold onto his existing assembly seat, also named Siwan.
Former Education Minister Chandrashekhar, known for his contentious remarks on Hindu scriptures, has also secured a ticket to contest from his current seat in Madhepura.
The party’s traditional “MY” (Muslim-Yadav) support base seems to have played a significant role in the candidate selection, though tickets have also been allocated to individuals from other backward and upper castes.
As the primary opposition party, RJD can highlight its decision to field 21 women, a number considerably higher than that of its main rivals, the JD(U) and the BJP.
In contrast, the JD(U) and the BJP, key components of the ruling NDA, are each contesting 101 seats.
Despite frequently facing accusations of establishing a “jungle raj” during its previous tenures, the RJD appears to have prioritized practical politics over a complete image overhaul.
Controversial figures also feature on the list; for instance, Bogo Singh (Matihani), a don-turned-politician, is directly contesting. Additionally, Osama Shahab will make his debut from Raghunathpur, a seat within the Siwan Lok Sabha constituency, aiming to uphold the legacy of his late father, Mohd Shahabuddin, who held the seat undefeated until his disqualification due to criminal convictions.
The trend of carrying forward family legacies extends to women candidates as well, particularly those associated with influential “strongman” politicians.
For example, former MP Veena Devi, the wife of gangster-turned-politician Suraj Bhan Singh, is set to contend against her husband’s long-standing rival, Anant Singh, in Mokama.
Another notable debutante is Shivani Shukla, a London-educated law graduate. She will contest from Lalganj, a constituency previously won twice by her father, Munna Shukla (a notorious figure in north Bihar), and once by her mother, Annu Shukla.
(Inputs from PTI)