Congress releases first list of 48 candidates for Bihar Assembly Elections

October 17, 2025

Patna: After days of uncertainty over seat-sharing within the Mahagathbandhan, the Congress on Thursday released its first list of 48 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. The announcement signals that the long-standing impasse between the Congress and its grand alliance partner, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), may have finally been resolved.

Bihar Congress Legislative Party leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan will contest from the Kadwa Assembly seat. Other notable candidates include Garib Das from Bachwara, where Congress’s INDIA bloc ally CPI has already announced its nominee, Anand Shankar Singh from Aurangabad, Jayesh Mangal Singh from Bagaha, Amit Giri from Nautan, Abhishek Ranjan from Chanpatia, Wasi Ahmed from Bettiah, Shyam Bihari Prasad from Raxaul, Shashi Bhushan Rai from Govindganj, and Manohar Prasad Singh from Manihari (ST). Sarita Devi from Sonbarsha, Mithilesh Kumar Chaudhary from Benipur, Bijendra Chaudhary from Muzaffarpur, Om Prakash Garg from Gopalganj, and Er. Sajneev Singh from Vaishali are also in the fray. Most of these seats will go to polls in the second phase on November 11.

The Congress-RJD seat-sharing dispute had created a cloud of uncertainty over the Mahagathbandhan’s unity. The sticking points reportedly included the number of seats allotted to Congress and disagreements over key constituencies. Initially, RJD offered 52 seats, which Congress rejected, demanding at least 60. After discussions between national leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, RJD is said to have agreed to Congress’s demand for 61 seats while retaining key strongholds like Kahalgaon, Narkatiyaganj, and Vasaliganj.

With the release of this first list, the focus now shifts to other alliance constituents, who are expected to announce their candidates in the coming days. The 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly will go to polls in two phases—November 6 and 11—with results declared on November 14.