NEW DELHI: Chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) on Wednesday released its first list of 57 candidates ahead of the Bihar assembly elections.JD(U), which is looking to retain power in the state, has fielded 30 new faces, while 27 sitting MLAs have been renominated.The announcement comes as National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners continue to send mixed signals over seat allocations, just days after the seat-sharing deal was finalised. Under the arrangement, JD(U) and BJP will contest 101 seats each, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) 29 seats, and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) six seats each.Chirag–Nitish showdown: Round 2?The upcoming election appears to be a sequel to the previous assembly polls, when chief minister Nitish Kumar and Chirag Paswan clashed after the latter broke away from the NDA to contest independently. In 2020, though Chirag’s party won just one seat out of 135 contested, it inflicted heavy damage on JD(U), defeating its candidates in over two dozen constituencies and reducing Nitish’s party to 43 seats — its lowest tally ever.This time, JD(U) has fielded candidates in five constituencies reportedly eyed by Chirag’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).JD(U) named Komal Singh (Gaighat), Ratnesh Sada (Sonbarsa), Vidyasagar Singh Nishad (Morwa), Rajkumar Singh (Matihani) and Kaushal Kishore (Rajgir). Notably, two of these five seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes – a key voter base for LJP (RV).Caste arithmetic at playAs in every Bihar election, caste has been a decisive factor in candidate selection and JD(U)’s list seems to try and balance the equation. Banking on its social justice plank, the party has given tickets to 23 OBC candidates that include nine Kushwahas, 10 Kurmis, three Yadavs, and one Baniya. It has also fielded 12 Scheduled Caste candidates.In addition, nine Extremely Backward Caste (EBC) nominees – JD(U)’s largest support base – are in the fray. Among upper castes, 13 candidates have been fielded – six Bhumihars, five Rajputs, and two Brahmins.No Muslim candidates in first listJD(U) has not fielded a single Muslim candidate in its first list, a notable omission given the party’s traditional appeal among Muslim voters within the NDA.In the 2020 assembly elections, JD(U) fielded 11 Muslim candidates out of 115 seats, none of whom won. The figure, around 10%, was already lower than the community’s share of Bihar’s population (over 15%).Cabinet ministers in the listJD(U) has fielded five of the cabinet ministers from CM Nitish Kumar’s cabinet. Those who have made the cut are: Shravan Kumar (Nalanda), Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (Sarairanjan), Maheshwar Hazari (Kalyanpur), Madan Sahni (Bahadurpur) and Ratnesh Sada (Sonbarsa).Women, turncoats rewardedThe party has also fielded four women candidates: Komal Singh (Gaighat), Ashwamedh Devi (Samastipur), Ravina Kushwaha (Vibhutipur) and Kavita Kumari Saha (Madhepura).Turncoats, too, have found space. Shyam Rajak, who rejoined JD(U) after quitting RJD last year, and strongman Anant Kumar Singh, who has filed his nomination from Mokama, are among those fielded. The Election Commission has announced the schedule for the Bihar Assembly elections. The 243 assembly seats will go to the polls in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with the counting of votes scheduled to take place on November 14.The total number of electors in the final list stands at 7.42 crore, while there were 7.89 crore electors as of June 24 this year. An Election Commission press release stated that 65 lakh voters were removed from the draft list, and the number of electors in the draft list as of August 1, 2025, stood at 7.24 crore.In the 2020 assembly election, the BJP contested 110 seats and won 74, securing 19.8% of the vote share. The Janata Dal (United) contested 115 seats and won 43, with a 15.7% vote share. The Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) contested seven seats, winning four, and achieved 0.9% of the vote share. Go to Source