As Bihar gears up for the upcoming Assembly elections, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Tuesday announced major appointments to lead the party’s election preparations, even as seat-sharing discussions within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) gain momentum.
LJP(R) Appoints Election Team for Bihar Polls
Arun Bharti, LJP(R) MP, has been named the Election Incharge for Bihar, while Raju Tiwary, the State President of the party, will serve as Co-In-Charge. The appointments come at a crucial time as alliances finalise strategies for the two-phase Assembly elections.
Union Education Minister and Bihar BJP election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan, along with BJP’s Bihar in-charge Vinod Tawde and state minister Mangal Pandey, held a meeting with Chirag Paswan in New Delhi on Tuesday, news agency ANI reported. The leaders reportedly discussed the seat-sharing formula and the overall election strategy.
Earlier, on October 4 and 5, Pradhan had visited Patna to review the BJP’s preparations, where an 18-member election committee met to evaluate the performance of current MLAs and assess potential candidates. The meeting also emphasised greater representation for women and youth in ticket distribution.
Seat-Sharing Stalemate: LJP(R) Pushes for More Seats
As reported by the Hindustan Times, the NDA’s final seat-sharing announcement is expected within the next two to three days. After Sunday’s alliance meeting in Patna, Dharmendra Pradhan and Vinod Tawde travelled to Delhi for detailed discussions with Chirag Paswan to understand his demands.
According to HT sources, the LJP(R) party is seeking to contest 45 to 54 seats, while the BJP is inclined to allocate 20 to 25. Chirag has also demanded at least two Assembly constituencies in each of the five Lok Sabha seats his party had won previously.
The BJP leaders assured him that the matter would be discussed internally before giving a formal response. Another meeting between Chirag Paswan and senior BJP leaders is expected soon to reach a final agreement, HT’s report stated.
Key Constituencies, Other Alliance Demands
According to the report, LJP(R) insiders revealed that Chirag has requested the Brahmapur and Govindganj seats for his close aides. The Brahmapur seat, which was previously allotted to the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) in 2020, is being sought for Hulas Pandey, the party’s Parliamentary Board Chairman. Pandey had finished second that year with 30,035 votes, while the RJD secured victory and the NDA-backed VIP candidate came third.
Similarly, Chirag wants Govindganj for his state president Raju Tiwary, who had contested from the same constituency in 2020 and stood third with 31,300 votes. The seat is currently held by the BJP.
Meanwhile, Hindustani Awam Morcha–Secular (HAM-S) leader and Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has also placed his demand for 15 seats. “Every regional party has its aspirations to become a state party,” Manjhi told reporters. However, sources indicate that the BJP has so far offered 10 seats to his party and identified seven of them.
Bihar Election 2025
The Election Commission of India has announced that polling for Bihar’s 243 Assembly seats will take place in two phases — on November 6 and November 11 — with counting on November 14.
The final electoral roll shows 7.42 crore voters, compared to 7.89 crore as of June 24. The Commission noted that around 65 lakh names were deleted from the draft list, bringing the number of electors to 7.24 crore as of August 1, 2025.
As campaigning heats up, the NDA faces a strong challenge from the INDIA bloc led by Tejashwi Yadav’s RJD, along with the Congress, CPI (ML) led by Dipankar Bhattacharya, the CPI, CPM, and Mukesh Sahani’s Vikasheel Insaan Party. Political strategist Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj is also set to make its debut in this election.
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