New Delhi: Following the announcement of the dates for the Bihar Assembly elections, seat-sharing negotiations between the NDA and the Grand Alliance are progressing rapidly. Political parties are beginning to finalise seats. The Aam Aadmi Party has also released its first list of candidates for the Bihar elections. AAP has confirmed the tickets of 11 candidates in the first list.
On the other hand, no candidates have been officially announced by either the NDA or the Grand Alliance. Sources indicate that the RJD has almost finalised where and how many seats it will contest. The RJD has set several parameters for seat selection. This time, the RJD may cancel the tickets of more than a dozen MLAs.
How many seats can the RJD contest?
In the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is expected to contest the same number of seats as in 2020. Sources indicate that this was decided during the seat-sharing meeting of the Grand Alliance. According to a report, RJD contested 144 seats in 2020. This time, there’s an agreement to contest the same number of seats.
Tejashwi Yadav has adopted an A-to-Z formula for ticket distribution. The clear meaning is that the more participation, the greater the share. If this formula is implemented, RJD could allocate 30 to 35 seats from its quota to the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC). This time, RJD could field at least one to one and a half dozen candidates from the upper castes, i.e., Bhumihar, Rajput, Brahmin, and Kayastha.
Elections to be held in two phases
For information, the Bihar Assembly elections will be held in two phases this time. Voting will take place in the first phase on November 6th and the second phase on November 11th. Counting of votes will take place on November 14th.
Election Commission chief Gyanesh Kumar himself has announced the election dates. The first list of candidates from the NDA and the Grand Alliance is expected to be released soon. Seat-sharing arrangements between the two alliances are almost complete, with only an official announcement pending.