Bihar Assembly Elections 2025: Nomination Process Begins for First Phase

Filing of nomination papers began on Friday (October 10) for 121 constituencies going to polls in the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, scheduled for November 6. Candidates can file nominations till October 17, with scrutiny on October 18 and the last date for withdrawal on October 20.

The first phase covers key districts including Patna, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Vaishali, Begusarai, Munger, Nalanda, and Bhojpur. The second and final phase will be held on November 11 for 122 seats, with vote counting on November 14.

Both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc are yet to announce their candidates, amid ongoing seat-sharing negotiations.

• Within the NDA, the BJP and JD(U) are likely to contest 101 and 102 seats respectively, while Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas) has increased its demand from 22 to 45 seats.

• In the INDIA bloc, the RJD is expected to field candidates in 135-140 seats, offering the Congress around 50-52 seats—below its demand of 70. The CPI(ML) Liberation, which won 12 of 19 seats in 2020, is reportedly demanding 40 seats this time.

Meanwhile, Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party has taken the lead by announcing 51 candidates.
Senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan arrived in Patna on Friday to hold strategy meetings as both alliances rush to finalise their lists.