The Janata Dal (United), or JD(U), on Sunday announced the names of candidates for all the 16 Lok Sabha seats in it is set to contest in the electorally crucial state of Bihar, where 40 Lok Sabha seats will go to the polls in seven phases beginning April 19. Two sitting MPs have been dropped, with preference given to backward class leaders.
The development comes a week after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) announced the five-party coalition’s seat-sharing arrangement in Bihar, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) contesting 17 seats, the same as 2019, and its principal ally, the JD(U) getting 16, one lower than 2019. It is for the first time that the BJP would be contesting more seats than the JD(U). The Chirag Paswan faction of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) will fight five seats, while Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) and Jitan Ram Majhi’s Hindustan Awam Morcha (Secular) will fight one seat each.
General elections in Bihar will be held in all seven phases from 19 April to 1 June to elect 40 members of the 18th Lok Sabha.
In its list, chief minister Nitish Kumar-led JD (U) has nominated 12 sitting MPs, and dropped two — Sunil Kumar Pintu from Simatarhi Sheohar and Kavita Singh from Siwan. Two turncoats — Lovely Anand, who recently joined the JD(U) from the Rashtriya Janata Dal; and Vijaylakshmi Kushwaha, the former RLM MLA from Ziradei — have been given tickets from the Sheohar and Siwan Lok Sabha seats, respectively.
{{/usCountry}}In its list, chief minister Nitish Kumar-led JD (U) has nominated 12 sitting MPs, and dropped two — Sunil Kumar Pintu from Simatarhi Sheohar and Kavita Singh from Siwan. Two turncoats — Lovely Anand, who recently joined the JD(U) from the Rashtriya Janata Dal; and Vijaylakshmi Kushwaha, the former RLM MLA from Ziradei — have been given tickets from the Sheohar and Siwan Lok Sabha seats, respectively.
{{/usCountry}}Lovely Anand is the wife of former MP Anand Mohan who was released from jail last year after serving 15 years of imprisonment in a murder case, said senior party leaders aware of the details.
Announcing the seats, JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha said that 12 seats had sitting candidates, while there were new faces on four due to change of seats on three and one candidate was changed. “Everything is smooth in the NDA and we are in touch with the BJP for better coordination to ensure that all Lok Sabha seats come to our kitty,” he added.
Among the other sitting MPs who will be seeking re-election from their respective seats are former JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’ (Munger), Dulalchandra Goswami (Katihar), Rampreet Mandal (Jhanjharpur) and Santosh Kumar (Purnea).
In a reflection of the impact of the last year’s caste census, 11 of the 16 seats have gone to extremely backward classes and backward classes, while one seat has gone to a minority candidate and one to Mahadalit. There are two women — Lovely Anand (Sheohar) and Vijaylakshmi Devi (Siwan) — in the list.
In 2019, the NDA swept Bihar, winning 39 out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP won all 17 it contested, the JD(U) 16, the LJP six.
According to the seat-sharing arrangement, the JD(U) will contest from Valmikinagar, Sitamarhi, Jhanjharpur, Supaul, Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnia, Madhepura, Gopalganj, Siwan, Bhagalpur, Banka, Munger, Nalanda, Jehanabad and Sheohar.