For the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections 2019, the BJP-JDU led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar announced the list of its 39 candidates. In a press conference held at Patna on Saturday, BJP’s state in-charge Bhupendra Yadav announced the list of its candidates.
Shatrughan Sinha, the BJP MP from Patna Sahib who has been at the loggerheads with his party for not being given a ministerial birth in the Union cabinet, has apparently got the boot. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will contest from his seat instead. According to media reports, Sinha is likely to join the Congress and seek re-election on its ticket.
While Union minister Giriraj Singh, whose Nawada seat has gone to the LJP, has been shifted to Begusarai, his colleagues in the council of ministers Radha Mohan Singh, R K Singh, Ashwani Kumar Choubey and Ram Kripal Yadav will be fielded from their respective sitting seats of Motihari, Ara, Buxar and Pataliputra.
Lok Janshakti Party state president Pashupati Kumar Paras will be replacing his elder brother Ram Vilas Paswan in Hajipur. The Union minister is likely to get a Rajya Sabha ticket. Chirag Paswan will be seeking re-election from Jamui.
Bhupendra also said the candidate for Khagaria Lok Sabha seat, which would be contested by the LJP, would be announced shortly.
As per the seat-sharing pact, the BJP and JD(U) are contesting from 17 seats each while the LJP has been given six seats.
Here is the full list of candidates contesting the polls from Bihar.
BJP
- Patliputra
- Ram Kirpal Yadav, sitting MP
- Patna Sahib
- Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Law Minister
- Arrah
- Raj Kumar Singh (RK Singh), sitting MP
- Purvi Champaran
- Radha Mohan Singh, sitting MP and Union Agriculture Minister
- Paschim Champaran
- Sanjay Jaiswal, sitting MP
- Sheohar
- Rama Devi, sitting MP
- Madhubani
- Ashok Kumar Yadav, son of sitting MP Hukmdev Narayan Yadav
- Darbhanga
- Gopalji Thakur. Sitting BJP MP Kirti Jha Azad rebelled and joined Congress
- Muzaffarpur
- Ajay Nishad, sitting MP
- Maharajganj
- Janardan Singh Sigriwal, sitting MP
- Saran
- Rajiv Pratap Rudy, sitting MP
- Buxar
- Ashwini Kumar Chaubey, sitting MP
- Sasaram (SC)
- Cheddi Paswan, sitting MP
- Begusarai
- Giriraj Singh, won from Nawada in 2014
- Araria
- Pradeep Singh
- Aurangabad
- Sushil Kumar Singh, sitting MP
- Ujiyarpur
- Nityanand Rai, sitting MP and BJP Bihar president
JD(U)
- Purnia
- Santosh Kumar Kushwaha, sitting MP
- Madhepura
- Dinesh Chandra Yadav, Bihar minister
- Supaul
- Dilkeshwar Kamat
- Kishanganj
- Mahmood Ashraf
- Katihar
- Dulalchand Goswami
- Siwan
- Kavita Singh
- Balmiki Nagar
- Baidyanath Mahto
- Jhanjharpur
- Ram Preet Mandal
- Sitamarhi
- Dr Barun Kumar
- Gaya (SC)
- Vijay Kumar Manjhi
- Gopalganj (SC)
- Dr Alok Suman
- Munger
- Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, close aide of Nitish Kumar and Bihar Water Resources Minister
- Banka
- Giridhari Yadav
- Bhagalpur
- Ajay Kumar Mandal
- Nalanda
- Kaushalendra Kumar, sitting MP
- Karakat
- Mahabali Singh
- Jahanabad
- Chandeshwar Prasad Chandrawanshi
LJP
- Hajipur (SC)
- Pashupati Kumar Paras, LJP Bihar chief and Ram Vilas Paswan’s brother
- Vaishali
- Beena Devi, wife of JDU MLC Dinesh Kumar Singh
- Samastipur (SC)
- Ram Chandra Paswan, Ram Vilas Paswan’s brother
- Jamui (SC)
- Chirag Paswan, Ram Vilas Paswan’s son
- Nawada
- Chandan Kumar
- Khagadia
- Yet to announce. LJP may field incumbent MP Mehboob Ali Kaiser to contest election from Khagaria
Bihar, which has 40 parliamentary constituencies, goes to polls in seven phases between April 11 and May 19.