New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to finalise its list of candidates for the Bihar Assembly polls on 12 October in New Delhi, with the first list likely to be released the following day. The party is set to contest around 101–105 seats in the state, sources said.
A panel of three candidates per constituency has been sent by the state unit to the central leadership for approval.
A team of senior state leaders prepared the list in consultation with the party’s election in-charge, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who had reportedly advised that the panel should not lean towards promoting the kith and kin of senior leaders.
The final names will be cleared by the BJP’s Central Election Committee at its meeting on Saturday. The last date for filing nominations for the first phase is 17 October.
Party insiders said that while the state unit has forwarded its shortlist, some adjustments may be made directly from Delhi. In past elections, as has been the trend, the central leadership has often bypassed names in the panel and selected candidates of its own choosing.
Notably, senior leaders from Bihar and Union ministers have not been included in the panel sent by the state leadership, though their names could still be added by the central leadership during the final round of selection.
Party sources indicated that, if given the option, sitting Union ministers may prefer not to contest this time, as the “mahol” — or ground sentiment — is “not entirely pro-BJP” and there is “no visible wave.” This assessment runs contrary to several recent opinion polls that have predicted a comfortable win for the NDA.
However, that has not stopped several Delhi-based BJP functionaries, including Sanjay Mayukh, who is part of the party’s media department, for lobbying for tickets despite their names not featuring in the panel forwarded by the Bihar unit.
Seat-sharing with Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) has been nearly finalised, with the party likely to get 10–15 seats. Some BJP candidates may contest on HAM’s symbol as part of the arrangement, sources said.
Meanwhile, speculation about tickets being demanded or offered to family members of the late senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi has been put to rest. There was buzz within sections of the party that the leadership was considering offering them a seat — possibly Kumhrar in Patna — but their names do not figure in the final shortlist, party insiders confirmed. Family members, sources said, expressed reluctance to take part in the election.
