Bihar polls: BJP drops 3 MLAs, fields singer Maithili Thakur in second list of 12

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BJP releases 2nd list of candidates for Bihar pollsThe announcement was made a day after Maithili Thakur (extreme right) formally joined the party in Patna during the Milan Samaroh event, alongside former RJD MLA Bharat Bind. (PTI Photo)

The BJP on Wednesday released its second list of 12 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, featuring nine names who will contest for the first time, including renowned folk singer Maithili Thakur, and dropped three sitting legislators.

Among the dozen names are two women and two Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates.

This takes the total number of BJP candidates to 83 — as per the NDA seat-sharing pact, the party has agreed to 101 seats — with the first list of 71 names announced Tuesday.

Maithili Thakur, who joined the BJP in Patna Tuesday, has been fielded from Alinagar — her maternal grandparents’ constituency — from where Mukesh Sahani-led Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), the BJP’s former ally, had earlier fielded a candidate.

Thakur, who was earlier appointed as the ‘State Icon’ of Bihar by the Election Commission, had recently expressed desire to start her political journey from her own or her maternal grandparents’ constituency.

“I would like to go to my village area because I have a special connection with it. Starting from there will also give me a chance to learn. Meeting people, talking to them… I will understand more if I start from my village,” she had said.

Along with Thakur, another newcomer Chhoti Kumari was fielded from Chhapra as BJP dropped sitting MLA C N Gupta from the seat.

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Two other legislators denied tickets are Gyanendra Kumar Singh Gyanu from Barh, replaced by Siyaram Singh, and Kusum Devi from Gopalganj as the party chose Subhash Singh.

Former IPS officer Anand Mishra, who is a former member of Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) is BJP’s face from Buxar, from where its candidate, former constable Parshuram Chaturvedi, had lost in 2020 Assembly elections. After exiting JSP, Mishra had contested as an independent in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and lost.

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Smt. Renu Devi

Bettiah

Woman Candidate

#2

Shri Pramod Kumar Sinha

Raxaul

#3

Shri Shyambabu Prasad Yadav

Pipra

#4

Shri Rana Randhir Singh

Madhuban

#5

Shri Pramod Kumar

Motihari

#6

Shri Pawan Jaiswal

Dhaka

#7

Shri Baidyanath Prasad

Riga

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Shri Anil Kumar Ram

Bathnaha (SC)

SC Reserved

#9

Smt. Gayatri Devi

Parihar

Woman Candidate

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Shri Sunil Kumar Pintu

Sitamarhi

#11

Shri Vinod Narayan Jha

Benipatti

#12

Shri Arun Shankar Prasad

Khajauli

#13

Shri Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul

Bisfi

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Shri Sujeet Paswan

Rajnagar (SC)

SC Reserved

#15

Shri Nitish Mishra

Jhanjharpur

#16

Shri Neeraj Kumar Singh Bablu

Chatapur

#17

Smt. Devanti Yadav

Narpatganj

Woman Candidate

#18

Shri Vidya Sagar Keshri

Forbesganj

#19

Shri Vijay Kumar Mandal

Sikti

#20

Smt. Sweety Singh

Kishanganj

Woman Candidate

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Shri Krishna Kumar Rishi

Banmankhi (SC)

SC Reserved

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Shri Vijay Kumar Khemka

Purnia

#23

Shri Tarkishore Prasad

Katihar

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Smt. Nisha Singh

Pranpur

Woman Candidate

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Smt. Kavita Devi

Korha (SC)

Woman Candidate

SC Reserved

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Shri Alok Ranjan Jha

Saharsa

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Shri Sujit Kumar Singh

Gaura Bauram

#28

Shri Sanjay Saraogi

Darbhanga

#29

Shri Murari Mohan Jha

Keoti

#30

Shri Jibesh Kumar Mishra

Jale

#31

Smt. Rama Nishad

Aurai

Woman Candidate

#32

Shri Kedar Prasad Gupta

Kurhani

#33

Shri Arun Kumar Singh

Baruraj

#34

Shri Raju Kumar Singh

Sahebganj

#35

Shri Mithilesh Tiwari

Baikunthpur

#36

Shri Mangal Pandey

Siwan

#37

Shri Karnjeet Singh

Daraundha

#38

Shri Devesh Kant Singh

Goriyakothi

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Shri Janak Singh

Taraiya

#40

Shri Krishan Kumar Mantoo

Amnour

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Shri Awadhesh Singh

Hajipur

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Shri Sanjay Kumar Singh

Lalganj

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Shri Lakhendra Kumar Raushan

Patepur (SC)

SC Reserved

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Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh

Mohiuddinnagar

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Shri Surendra Mehta

Bachhwara

#46

Shri Rajnish Kumar

Teghra

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Shri Kundan Kumar

Begusarai

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Shri Rohit Pandey

Bhagalpur

#49

Shri Ram Narayan Mandal

Banka

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Shri Puran Lal Tudu

Katoria (ST)

ST Reserved

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Shri Samrat Chaudhary

Tarapur

#52

Shri Kumar Pranay

Munger

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Shri Vijay Kumar Sinha

Lakhisarai

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Dr. Sunil Kumar

Biharsharif

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Shri Sanjiv Chaurasia

Digha

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Shri Nitin Nabin

Bankipur

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Shri Sanjay Gupta

Kumhrar

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Shri Ratnesh Kushwaha

Patna Sahib

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Shri Ramkripal Yadav

Danapur

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Shri Siddharth Saurav

Bikram

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Shri Raghvendra Pratap Singh

Barhara

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Shri Sanjay Singh "Tiger"

Arrah

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Shri Vishal Prashant

Tarari

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Shri Manoj Sharma

Arwal

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Shri Trivikram Singh

Aurangabad

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Shri Upendra Dangi

Gurua

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Dr. Prem Kumar

Gaya Town

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Shri Birendra Singh

Wazirganj

#69

Shri Anil Singh

Hisua

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Smt. Aruna Devi

Warsaliganj

Woman Candidate

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Sushri Shreyasi Singh

Jamui

Woman Candidate

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Sushri Maithili Thakur

Alinagar (81)

Woman Candidate

New Addition

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Shri Ram Chandra Prasad

Hayaghat (84)

New Addition

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Shri Ranjan Kumar

Muzaffarpur (94)

New Addition

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Shri Subhash Singh

Gopalganj (101)

New Addition

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Shri Kedar Nath Singh

Baniapur (115)

New Addition

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Smt. Chhoti Kumari

Chapra (118)

Woman Candidate

New Addition

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Shri Vinay Kumar Singh

Sonepur (122)

New Addition

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Shri Birendra Kumar

Rosera (SC) (139)

SC Reserved

New Addition

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Dr. Siyaram Singh

Barh (179)

New Addition

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Shri Mahesh Paswan

Agiaon (SC) (195)

SC Reserved

New Addition

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Shri Rakesh Ojha

Shahpur (198)

New Addition

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Shri Anand Mishra, IPS

Buxar (200)

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However, two legislators — Ramchandra Prasad from Hayaghat and Birendra Kumar from Rosera — have been given tickets again.

Among the fresh faces are Ranjan Kumar from Muzaffarpur, Rakesh Ojha from Shahpur, Kedar Nath Singh from Baniapur — a seat previously contested by the VIP — and Mahesh Paswan from Agiaon (SC), which was earlier held by the JD(U).

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In its first list also, BJP fielded a candidate from a JD(U) stronghold Tarapur, which will see Deputy CM and MLC Samrat Choudhary entering the poll arena this time.

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