Patna : Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary will file his nomination papers from the Tarapur constituency on Thursday for the upcoming Assembly elections, marking a key step in the Samrat Choudhary Tarapur nomination process.
Choudhary, who took oath as Deputy Chief Minister alongside Vijay Kumar Sinha in February 2024, holds several key portfolios following the cabinet reshuffle by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. He manages finance, health, commercial taxes, urban development and housing, sports, panchayati raj, industries, animal and fisheries resources, and planning.
A day earlier, Vijay Kumar Sinha filed his nomination from Lakhisarai, where he seeks a fourth consecutive term. He submitted his papers in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who visited Bihar to rally support for party members ahead of the election.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its third and final list of 18 candidates on Wednesday for the Bihar Assembly elections, completing its share of 101 seats under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) seat-sharing arrangement.
Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) announced its first list of four candidates. The party fielded Madhav Anand from Madhubani, Prashant Kumar Pankaj from Ujiarpur, Snehlata, wife of party chief Upendra Kushwaha, from Sasaram, and Alok Kumar Singh from Dinara. The RLM will contest six seats in total.
Earlier, the BJP released two candidate lists 71 names on Tuesday and 12 on Wednesday. With the latest announcement, the party finalized candidates for all 101 constituencies it is contesting in Bihar, including the Samrat Choudhary Tarapur nomination.
Under the seat-sharing formula, the JD(U) and BJP are contesting 101 seats each, while LJP (Ram Vilas) is contesting 29 seats as the third biggest ally.
Former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha each contest six seats.
Despite the agreement, minor frictions remain. HAM leader Jitan Ram Manjhi announced that his party will contest from Makhdumpur and Bodh Gaya, both allotted to the LJP (RV), while discussions continue over seats such as Mahua and Chakai.
Amid these tensions, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday and assured that leaders will resolve all issues amicably within the NDA, ensuring stability for the Samrat Choudhary Tarapur nomination and other key seats.
The first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections will take place on November 6, followed by the second phase on November 11, with vote counting scheduled for November 14.
–IANS
