Bihar polls: 22 women feature in JD(U)'s candidate list; Chandrika Rai gets ticket

A day after the NDA declared its seat-sharing formula, JD(U) on Wednesday announced its list of 115 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly election. Erstwhile RJD legislators Maheshwar Prasad Yadav, Ashok Kumar, Jai Vardhan Yadav, Birendra Kumar Singh and Chandrika Rai who joined JD(U) in the last two months received a ticket from Gaighat, Sasaram, Paliganj, Teghra and Parsa constituency respectively. Currently, Rai's daughter is locked in a marital dispute with RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav.

Meanwhile, ex-DGP Gupteshwar Pandey who took VRS and joined JD(U) did not feature in the list of candidates. In an encouraging sign, 22 (19.13%) of the party's 115 candidates are women. Addressing a press briefing, Bihar JD(U) president Bashistha Narain Singh lauded the leadership of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. According to him, the party had given adequate representation to all communities including Mahadalits, OBCs, minorities and upper-castes. 

Here is the full candidate list: 

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Upcoming Bihar polls

The Bihar Assembly has a strength of 243 members out of which 38 seats are reserved for SC and two for ST. In the 2015 state polls, the Mahagatbandhan comprising RJD, JD(U) and Congress won a whopping majority with 178 seats under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. On the other hand, the BJP-led alliance won from only 58 constituencies. On July 26, 2017, Nitish Kumar stepped down as the CM citing irreconcilable differences with RJD over corruption allegations against Tejashwi Yadav and joined hands with its former ally BJP.

The upcoming Assembly election will be held in 3 phases- October 28, November 3 and November 7. To decongest polling stations, the voting time has been increased by one hour. Thus, people will be able to cast their votes from 7 am to 6 pm barring for the areas affected by Left-wing extremism. The counting of votes will take place on November 10.

Earlier in the day, Mukesh Sahni-led Vikassheel Insaan Party formally joined the National Democratic Alliance ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly election. Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal declared that BJP will cede 11 of its 121 allocated seats to VIP in the Bihar polls. While VIP was a part of the opposition Mahagatbandhan, it exited the alliance owing to a raw seat-sharing deal offered by RJD.

Read: Bihar Elections: BJP Vice Prez Rajendra Singh Joins Chirag Paswan-led LJP Ahead Of Polls