Patna (Bihar) [India], October 15 (ANI): The Janata Dal (United) on Wednesday released its first list of 57 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, according to an official statement from the party.

According to the release, the list of candidates for Janata Dal (U) in the first phase of the Bihar Legislative Assembly Elections 2025 has been approved by the party's National President, Nitish Kumar.

The party approved JDU state chief Umesh Khushwaha for Mahanar, Minister for Rural Development of Bihar, Shravan Kumar for Nalanda, Sunil Kumar for Bhore (SC), among others, for the Bihar Assembly elections.

Earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its first list of 71 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections on Tuesday, according to an official party statement.

The Central Election Committee approved Mangal Pandey for Siwan, Tarkishore Prasad for Katihar, Ramkripal Yadav for Danapur, Nitin Nabin for Bankipur, Renu Devi for Bettiah, Prem Kumar for Gaya Town, Shreyasi Singh for Jamui, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Deputy Chief Minister, for Lakhisarai, and Deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary for Tarapur for the Bihar Assembly elections, among others.

Jan Suraaj released another list of 65 candidates for the upcoming Bihar elections on Monday, taking a lead over its rivals in ticket distribution.

A day earlier, Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor stated that the list is in line with the party's effort to provide representation to various sections in proportion to their population.

'Of the 116 names released in the list, 25 were reserved. Of the 91 seats being released for the general category, 31 are allocated to the EBC community, 21 to the OBC community, and 21 to the Muslim community,' he said at a press conference.

The initial list of candidates, released on October 9, had the names of 51 candidates for the Bihar assembly election.

While the NDA has decided on seat distribution among its constituents for the Bihar polls, the Mahagathbandhan is yet to do so. The Election Commission issued a notification on Monday for the second phase of the state's assembly polls. Bihar will go to the polls on November 6 and November 11, and votes will be counted on November 14.

The total number of electors in the final list stands at 7.42 crore.

The ruling NDA decided its ticket distribution on Sunday. The BJP and JD(U) will contest 101 seats each, while the Lok Janshakti Party (headed by Ram Vilas) will contest 29 seats. The Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) will contest six seats each.

The polling for the 243-seat Assembly is scheduled to be held on November 6 and November 11, with counting set for November 14. (ANI)