PatnaOctober 20, 2025 06:28 PM IST First published on: Oct 20, 2025 at 06:26 PM ISTWhile a formal seat-sharing agreement continues to elude the Opposition Mahagathbandhan for the November Bihar Assembly elections, its lead player, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), on Monday released its full list of 143 candidates for the polls, which marked a dip from the 144 seats that the party had contested in the 2020 elections.The RJD’s move came on the last day of filing of nominations for the Bihar elections’ second phase to be held on November 11. Its candidates for the first phase of polls, scheduled for November 6, have already filed their nominations last week even though the party had then formally not released their names.AdvertisementThe RJD’s key face and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Tejashwi Yadav, party supremo Lalu Yadav’s son, will again contest from his stronghold Raghopur. A total of 41 sitting MLAs have been renominated, including prominent leaders like Alok Mehta, ex-minister Chandra Shekhar, Yusuf Salahuddin, and Chandrahas Choupal.The RJD has dropped 36 sitting MLAs, opting for a mix of new faces and seasoned politicians. Signalling its intent to bring in fresh blood, the party has fielded several young leaders including its youth wing president Rajesh Yadav, who will now replace the party’s sitting MLA in Dinara.Among the RJD’s candidates, more than 35 belong to the Yadav (OBC) group while 18 are from the Muslim community. The move highlights the party’s bid to consolidate its core Muslim-Yadav (M-Y) vote base. The party has fielded 20 candidates from the Scheduled Caste (SC) communities and one from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) group. It has also nominated 24 women candidates.AdvertisementThe RJD has given ticket to Shahnawaz Alam, son of late party leader Taslimuddin, from Jokihat, a seat previously held by the AIMIM. The party has also nominated Osama Shahab, the son of former RJD strongman Mohammad Shahabuddin, in Raghunathpur, replacing the sitting legislator Harishankar Yadav.Other notable nominees in the RJD’s list include former Assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary (Siwan), ex-Banka MP Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav (Jhajha), ex-MP M A A Fatmi’s son Faraz Fatmi (Keoti), ex-MP Choudhary Mehboob Ali Qaiser’son Mohammed Salahuddin (Simri Bakhtiarpur),Lalu’s aides Bhola Yadav (Bahadurpur) and Shakti Singh (Hilsa), and Syed Abu Dojana (Sursand) whose company has been constructing a Patna mall which has been under the scanner over the alleged IRCTC scam.Former Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary has been fielded from Sikandra (Jamui), while RJD national vice-president Shivanand Tiwari’s son Rahul Tiwari has been repeated from Shahpur. Former JD(U) leader Santosh Kushwaha, who recently switched to the RJD, has been given the RJD ticket from Dhamdaha against the JD (U) minister Leshi Singh.As part of the changes, the party has shifted Jehanabad MLA Suday Yadav to the Kurtha seat and fielded Mala Pushpam from Hasanpur in place of expelled leader Tej Pratap Yadav, Lalu’s elder son.most readThe RJD has chosen not to renominate several party-hoppers who had switched their allegiance to the NDA during the 2022 floor test in the state Assembly. These defectors include Chetan Anand, Neelam Devi, Prahlad Yadav, Vibha Devi, Sangeeta Devi, and Prakash Vir.‘Friendly fights’The Congress has fielded a total of 60 candidates in its three lists. In 2020, the party had contested 70 seats, winning just 19 as compared to the RJD’s 75. With the Mahagathbandhan failing to announce its seat-sharing pact for the state’s 243 seats so far, there are several constituencies where its allies — which include the Left parties and the Mukesh Sahni-led Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) — would take on each other besides fighting against the ruling NDA. For instance, the RJD and the Congress are likely to be caught in “friendly fights” in six seats where both partners have fielded their respective candidates. These seats include Narkatiganj, Lalganj, Vaishali, Sultanganj, Kahalgaon, and Sikandra. While the last date for nomination withdrawal for the first phase ended Monday, it is slated for Thursday for the second phase.The RJD has also fielded its nominees in some constituencies where the Congress contested in 2020, including the Bihariganj and Warisaliganj seats.(With inputs from Santosh Singh in Patna)