Bihar Elections 2025: Congress names 7 more candidates, taking to 61 amid Mahagathbandhan seat split

Bihar Elections 2025: The Congress on Monday named seven more candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections, taking the party’s total announced representatives to 61. The Congress unveiled a list of six candidates in the early hours of the morning. The move comes despite the formal agreement on seat sharing within the Mahagathbandhan still eluding its two main partners, the RJD and the Congress, which are still unable to finalize an agreement. The six candidates nominated were Surendra Prasad Kushwaha (Valmiki Nagar), Abidur Rehman (Araria), Jalil Mastan (Amour), Tauquir Alam (Barari), Praveen Singh Kushwaha (Kahalgaon), and Vinod Chaudhary (Sikandra, SC). The party later confirmed Minnat Rahmani as its candidate for the Supaul Assembly constituency. According to news agency PTI, citing sources, with the completion of these announcements, the party will now contest a total of 61 seats, a significant drop from the 70 seats it contested in the last election. The widening cracks within the INDIA block became evident on Sunday over poll-bound Bihar. Throughout the day, disgruntled aspirants from both the RJD and the Congress publicly made accusations that their respective party leaderships were effectively selling nominations. Monday is the deadline for submitting nomination papers for the second and final phase of voting. Meanwhile, the Congress and the RJD continued the process of issuing their respective party symbols to candidates. The Congress on Thursday released its initial list of 48 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, choosing state unit chief Rajesh Ram for the Kutumba seat and CLP leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan for Kadwa. This was followed by a single, separate announcement for Rishi Mishra in Jale on Friday, before a list of five more candidates was published on Saturday. Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram files nomination from Kutumba. Meanwhile, Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram on Monday filed his nomination papers as the candidate for the Congress-backed Mahagathbandhan. Seeking a third term, he will contest the Kutumba Assembly constituency, making him the official joint candidate for the alliance. In a social media post on X, the Bihar Congress chief said, “Today, with the immense love, support and blessings of the people of Kutumba Assembly constituency, I have submitted my nomination papers as a candidate of the Congress-backed Mahagathbandhan. Together, you and I have laid a strong foundation for development. With your cooperation, I will take this region to new heights.” take heights.” Before filing his nomination, the Bihar Congress chief held a huge rally. He then declared that the Kutumba election result would ultimately “show the way for Bihar”. “The unprecedented crowd gathered during the nomination tour is proof that Kutumba is now ready to forge his own power. Today’s historic tour clearly indicates that Kutumba is going to create new history and is eager to play a decisive role in forming the Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar,” Rajesh Ram posted.