BJP has released the first list of 71 candidates for Bihar elections 2025. This list balances caste equations, in which an attempt has been made to give representation to all classes including upper caste, OBC, EBC, women and SC/ST.
Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday released the first list of its candidates for Bihar Assembly elections. There are names of total 71 candidates in this list. This time, BJP has achieved such a balance of caste and social equations, which clearly shows that the party has tried to woo every section of Bihar, especially the upper caste, backward, extremely backward and women voters.
Strong presence of leaders of Bhumihar and Rajput community is visible in the first list. The party has given tickets to 11 Bhumihar and 15 Rajput candidates in this list. At the same time, 7 candidates have been fielded from Brahmin community, 3 from Kayastha, 17 from OBC, 11 from Extremely Backward Class, and 6 from SC-ST category. Overall, this first list of BJP presents a balanced sample of social representation, but the hold of the upper class still remains strong in it.
Share of Brahmin and Kayastha leaders is limited but strategic
This time 7 candidates from Brahmin community have got tickets, many of whom are old faces. The BJP aims to retain the traditional vote of this class, which has been strongly associated with the BJP since 2014. There are 3 candidates in the fray from Kayastha community. Their representation is limited but they all hold seats in urban areas of influence.
9 tickets for women
9 women candidates have been given place in the first list, including many famous names. Renu Devi (Bettiah), Aruna Devi (Warisaliganj), Shreyasi Singh (Jamui), Kavita Devi (Kodha), Rama Nishad (Aurai) etc. This clearly shows that BJP wants to strongly connect the women community with itself under the slogan of “Women Power” and “Lakshya 2025”.
OBC and EBC
This time BJP has included 17 OBC and 11 extremely backward (EBC) candidates in its social engineering. This part is considered very decisive in the politics of Bihar. In the areas under Nitish Kumar’s influence, BJP is now directly following the strategy of “extreme backwardness vs grand alliance”.
SC-ST category also represented
In the first list of BJP, 6 candidates are from SC-ST category. Most of them come from Dalit dominated areas like Gaya, Nawada, Sasaram and Jehanabad. By fielding these candidates, BJP has made it clear that it wants to include every section of the society with itself.
The balance of ‘social engineering’
The entire mathematics of caste equations in BJP’s first list is worth understanding. While on one hand Bhumihar and Rajput communities have been considered as the core vote bank of the party, on the other hand through OBC, EBC, women and Dalit candidates, BJP has indicated to fight the 2025 elections on the agenda of “social harmony and representation”.
Category Number of Candidates
- Bhumihar 11
- Rajput 15
- Brahmin 7
- Kayastha 3
- OBC 17
- extremely backward 11
- SC-ST 6
- woman 9