BJP candidates list for Bihar, Odisha assembly by-polls released

BJP's central election committee has approved the names of its candidates for by-elections scheduled for Gopalganj and Mokama assembly constituencies in Bihar, and Dhamnagar, reserved for Scheduled Castes, in Odisha.

Updated on: Oct 9, 2022, 18:55:40 IST

By HT News Desk | Edited by Kunal Gaurav

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The BJP on Sunday released its list of candidates for assembly by-elections in Bihar and Odisha, days after the Election Commission announced the schedule for seven assembly seats across six states. BJP's central election committee has approved the names of its candidates for by-elections scheduled for Gopalganj and Mokama assembly constituencies in Bihar, and Dhamnagar, reserved for Scheduled Castes, in Odisha.

The Bihar assembly by-poll would be the first test of strength for the BJP against the ruling seven-party “Mahagathbandhan”. (HT_PRINT)

The BJP's candidate from Gopalganj will be Kusum Devi, wife of party MLA Subhash Singh whose recent death necessitated the by-poll, according to a release. Singh died on August 16, a week after Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s latest U-turn stripped the BJP of power. Kusum Devi is expected to cash in on the wave of sympathy following his husband's death due to complications arising out of a kidney transplant, reported PTI.

The saffron party has decided to field Sonam Devi for the Mokama by-poll, necessitated by the disqualification of four-term MLA Anant Kumar Singh. Sonam Devi is the wife of Nalini Ranjan Singh, alias Lalan Singh, who has been at loggerheads with Anant Singh. Both Lalan Singh and Anant Singh, dreaded gangsters-turned-politicians, belong to the dominant Bhumihar caste group.

Sonam Devi's candidature was announced just a day after Lalan Singh quit Nitish Kumar's party. Lalan Singh had joined JD(U) ahead of the 2020 assembly polls, hoping for a party ticket and had been sulking ever since being overlooked, according to PTI.

Meanwhile, the Bihar BJP has claimed before the Election Commission that close aides of Anant Singh were trying to "influence" Mokama assembly by-election.

The Bihar assembly by-poll would be the first test of strength for the BJP against the ruling seven-party “Mahagathbandhan”.

From Odisha's Dhamnagar, BJP has fielded Suryabanshi Suraj Sthitaprajna.

(With PTI inputs)

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