Patna, Oct 16 (IANS) Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary is set to file his nomination papers from the Tarapur constituency on Thursday for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

Choudhary, who took oath as Deputy Chief Minister alongside Vijay Kumar Sinha in February 2024, was entrusted with several key portfolios following the cabinet reshuffle by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. His responsibilities include finance, health, commercial taxes, urban development and housing, sports, panchayati raj, industries, animal and fisheries resources, and planning.

A day earlier, on Wednesday, Vijay Kumar Sinha filed his nomination from Lakhisarai, where he is seeking a fourth consecutive term.

Sinha submitted his papers in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who visited Bihar to rally support for party members ahead of the election.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday released its third and final list of 18 candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections, completing its share of 101 seats under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) seat-sharing arrangement.

Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) also announced its first list of four candidates. As per the list, Madhav Anand has been fielded from Madhubani, Prashant Kumar Pankaj from Ujiarpur, Snehlata — wife of party chief Upendra Kushwaha — from Sasaram, and Alok Kumar Singh from Dinara. The RLM has been allocated six seats in total.

The BJP had earlier released two lists — the first comprising 71 names on Tuesday, followed by a second list of 12 candidates on Wednesday. With the latest announcement, the party has now finalised its candidates for all 101 constituencies it is contesting in Bihar.

As per the seat-sharing formula, the JD(U) and BJP are contesting 101 seats each, while LJP (Ram Vilas) is the third biggest ally, fighting on 29 seats.

Former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rajya Sabha member Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha got six seats each.

Despite the agreement, minor frictions remain as HAM leader Jitan Ram Manjhi has announced that his party will contest from Makhdumpur and Bodh Gaya, both allotted to the LJPRV, while discussions also continue over seats such as Mahua and Chakai.

Amid the unease, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday and assured that everything will be resolved amicably within the NDA.

The first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections will be held on November 6 and the second on November 11. The counting of votes will take place on November 14.

–IANS

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