JDU has released the first list of 57 candidates for Bihar elections 2025. There is emphasis on Luv-Kush and Dalit equation, but there is no Muslim candidate. The party has also fielded candidates on the seats of Chirag Paswan.
Patna: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has made his first move on the political chessboard of Bihar Assembly elections 2025. On Wednesday, Janata Dal (United) released the first list of 57 candidates. This list has everything. Caste balance, trust in loyal faces, entry of strongmen, but there is not a single Muslim candidate. This is the same party which has been calling itself the party of the entire society, but this time the message in the list is clear, Nitish has paid full attention to solving the caste equation within the Hindu society in this election, although the names of more candidates are yet to be revealed.
Big bet on Luv-Kush equation
The basis of Nitish Kumar’s politics has always been the “Luv-Kush equation” i.e. the Kurmi-Kushwaha alliance. He has strengthened this base in the first list of 2025 also. This time the party has given tickets to 9 Kurmi and 6 Kushwaha candidates, which means Luv-Kush community has got representation on a total of 15 seats. Apart from this, by fielding 12 Dalit candidates, the party has also indicated that its efforts to woo Dalit voters will be more aggressive this time.
Caste analysis of JDU’s first list
There are a total of 57 candidates in the first list of JDU, in which the distribution according to caste groups is as follows…
- 12 Dalit (SC)
- 9 Kurmi
- 6 Kushwaha
- 3 Dhanuk
- 6 Bhumihar
- 5 Rajput
- 1 Kayastha
- 1 brahmin
- 5 Vaishya (Bania/Kayastha variant)
- 2 Nishad
- 0 Muslim, which has become the most talked about thing in this list.
Efforts for women empowerment also
This time the party has given tickets to 4 women. These include Saha (Madhepura), Dr. Manjarik Mrinal (Warisnagar), Ashwamedh Devi (Samastipur), and Raveena Kushwaha (Vibhutipur). The party has called it a big step towards women empowerment, but political analysts believe that the four names are symbolic, not real empowerment.
6 ministers get second chance, 18 MLAs repeat
In this list of JDU, the party has again expressed confidence in 6 ministers. In which the names of Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (Sarairanjan), Shravan Kumar (Nalanda), Madan Sahni (Bahadurpur), Maheshwar Hazari (Kalyanpur), Sunil Kumar (Bhore) and Ratnesh Sada (Sonbarsa) are included. Along with this, a total of 18 present MLAs have been repeated, which clearly shows that Nitish Kumar has faith in the old faces in the organization.
Candidates fielded on Chirag Paswan’s seats also
In its first list, JDU has fielded its candidates on 5 seats claimed by Chirag Paswan, Sonbarsa, Alauli, Rajgir, Ekma, Matihani and Morwa. This decision can create a stir in the NDA alliance, because these seats were in LJP’s account in the last elections. Obviously, JDU does not want to face “pressure from LJP” under any circumstances.