NEW DELHI: With the Bihar Assembly elections drawing near, Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar has decided to take the task of candidate screening into his own hands before finalizing the party’s list.
According to sources within the party, the primary objective behind this exercise is to thoroughly evaluate each aspirant’s track record, their acceptance among voters at the grassroots, and their ability to build a strong connection with the electorate in Bihar’s evolving political environment. Insiders further revealed that the JDU will step up the pace of its candidate selection process immediately after Dussehra in the second week of October.
Marking a major shift from his earlier practice, Nitish Kumar is preparing to personally lead the process of scrutinizing potential candidates. In contrast to previous elections, when the responsibility of shortlisting was largely shouldered by screening committees and senior party leaders, this time the Chief Minister will engage in one-on-one conversations with every prospective contestant before taking a final call on their candidature.
The proposed interactions will be conducted at the JDU’s state headquarters in Patna and are likely to span over two to three days. The duration will depend on the number of applicants, with Kumar allocating individual time and attention to each candidate who makes it to the shortlist. Notably, the Chief Minister will not restrict these interactions to newcomers aspiring to contest on the JDU ticket. He will also hold detailed meetings with sitting MLAs of the party who are seeking renomination for the 2025 Assembly polls.
According to senior party functionaries, this format of personal engagement is expected to provide Nitish Kumar with direct, unfiltered feedback on constituency-level issues while simultaneously highlighting his pivotal role in determining the JDU’s electoral roadmap.
“Every meeting will be held in a one-to-one format, focusing specifically on the candidate’s credentials. Alongside discussions on electoral prospects, the talks will also delve into the aspirant’s role in implementing government schemes at the local level and their preparedness for the upcoming polls,” a senior JDU leader informed The Sunday Guardian.
In addition to the Chief Minister’s one-on-one sessions, members of the JDU’s core committee will also be present during certain stages of the process, ensuring that internal evaluations and organizational feedback are incorporated into the decision-making on ticket distribution.
A political analyst who closely follows Bihar politics told the publication that the exercise highlights Kumar’s determination to retain firm control over the ticket allocation process and to guarantee that every candidate fielded by the party is in sync with the broader electoral strategy as well as the government’s development-oriented agenda. He added that this time Kumar aims to use these dialogues not just to weigh the winnability of each candidate but also to collect ground-level assessments about the performance of government welfare programs.
