Bihar polls: BJP releases first list of 71 candidates, drops 11 MLAs

Patna: Amid uncertainty over the final seat-sharing among NDA allies, the BJP on Tuesday released its first list of 71 candidates for the Bihar assembly elections.In a significant move, Ratnesh Kushwaha has replaced seven-time MLA and assembly Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav in Patna Sahib while former union minister Ram Kripal Yadav will contest from Danapur.

Deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary will fight from Tarapur and health minister Mangal Pandey from Siwan. Both Choudhary and Pandey are currently MLCs. Another deputy CM, Vijay Kumar Sinha, has been fielded from Lakhisarai.The list features 13 ministers and nine women candidates. The BJP will contest 101 of Bihar’s 243 seats and the names for 30 constituencies are yet to be announced. The women candidates include Shreyasi Singh (Jamui), Aruna Devi (Warisaliganj), Renu Devi (Bettiah), Gayatri Devi (Parihar), Devanti Yadav (Narpatganj), Sweety Singh (Kishanganj), Nisha Singh (Pranpur), Kavita Devi (Kodha) and Rama Nishad (Aurai).Deputy chief minister Choudhary said he would file his nomination papers on Oct 16.In its first list, the BJP has dropped 11 sitting MLAs, opting for fresh faces in several key constituencies, including Kumhrar, Patna Sahib, Riga, Sitamarhi, Munger, Ara, Katoria, Rajnagar, Narpatganj and Gaura Bauram. Those dropped include minister Motilal Prasad, former minister Amarendra Pratap Singh, Mithilesh Kumar, Rampreet Paswan, Ram Surat Rai, Nikki Hembram and five-time MLA Arun Kumar Sinha from Kumhrar.

Sinha will be replaced by Sanjay Gupta.Sanjay Singh Tiger has been fielded from Ara, replacing Amarendra Pratap Singh. In Riga, Baidyanath Prasad replaces minister Motilal Prasad while in Sitamarhi, former MP Sunil Kumar Pintu takes the place of Mithilesh Kumar. Debutant Sujit Paswan replaces Rampreet Paswan in Rajnagar and in Aurai, Ram Surat Rai is replaced by Rama Nishad, wife of former MP Ajay Nishad, who recently left the Congress to join the BJP.In Katoria, a seat reserved for STs, Nikki Hembram has been replaced by Puran Lal Tudu. At Munger, Kumar Pranay replaces Pranav Yadav, while in Narpatganj, Devanti Yadav replaces Jai Prakash Yadav. Swarna Singh has been replaced in Gaura Bauram (Darbhanga) by her husband Sujit Kumar Singh. Swarna, who won in 2020 on the VIP symbol, later joined the BJP.