Bihar Elections 2025: Political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party on Monday, October 13, released its second list of 65 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly Elections 2025. Interestingly, Kishor’s own name — who is expected to contest from Raghopur, a seat held by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav — was missing from the latest list.
Key Highlights of the Second List
The Jan Suraaj Party’s second list covers a wide social and regional representation, aiming to expand its appeal across Bihar’s political spectrum.
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Total seats announced: 65
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Reserved constituencies: 20 (19 for Scheduled Castes and 1 for Scheduled Tribes)
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Unreserved constituencies: 46
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Candidates from Most Backward Class (MBC): 14 (10 Hindu and 4 Muslim)
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Candidates from Other Backward Classes (OBC): 10
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Candidates from reserved categories: 11
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Candidates from minority communities: 14
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One SC/ST candidate has been fielded from Harnaut Bardhaman, a general category seat.
One of the most notable fieldings is Kamlesh Paswan from Harnaut, a seat long considered Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s stronghold — although the CM himself hasn’t contested there for nearly three decades.
Party’s Strategy and Representation
Addressing a press conference, Prashant Kishor announced that with this new list, the party has declared candidates for a total of 116 Assembly seats so far.
“In the first list, we announced 51 candidates. Today, we’ve added 65 more names. The remaining seats will be announced in due course,” Kishor said.
He highlighted that among all announced candidates:
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31 belong to extremely weaker sections
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21 belong to Other Backward Classes (OBCs)
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21 are Muslims
Kishor reiterated his commitment to creating a socially inclusive and development-driven political model in Bihar, distinct from traditional caste-based politics.
First List Overview
Earlier, on October 9, Jan Suraaj had released its first list of 51 candidates, which included several prominent names:
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Lata Singh, daughter of former Union Minister R.C.P. Singh, contesting from Asthawan.
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Jagriti Thakur, granddaughter of socialist icon Karpoori Thakur, fielded from Morwa in Samastipur.
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Bhojpuri singer Ritesh Pandey, contesting from Kargahar.
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Mathematician K.C. Sinha, contesting from Kumhrar in Patna.
Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 Schedule
The Bihar Assembly elections for 243 seats will take place in two phases:
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Phase 1: November 6, 2025
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Phase 2: November 11, 2025
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Counting of votes: November 14, 2025
Currently, the NDA alliance holds 131 seats — comprising BJP (80), JD(U) (45), HAM (4), and 2 Independents — while the Mahagathbandhan controls 111 seats, including RJD (77), Congress (19), CPI(ML) (11), CPI(M) (2), and CPI (2).
A Triangular Political Battle in Bihar
This election is expected to be a triangular contest among:
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NDA (BJP-JD(U)-Allies)
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INDIA Bloc (RJD-Congress-Left)
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Jan Suraaj Party (Prashant Kishor)
Political observers suggest that the Jan Suraaj Party could emerge as a game-changer, especially in constituencies where voters are disillusioned with long-standing alliances.
In the 2020 elections, RJD emerged as the single largest party with 75 seats, followed closely by the BJP with 74 seats. With Prashant Kishor entering the fray, Bihar’s 2025 battle is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable and closely fought contests in recent years.
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