Ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, unveiled the first list of 21 candidates from his party, the Jantantrik Janata Dal (JJD), during a press conference in Patna on Monday. The announcement came just a day after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) declared its seat-sharing agreement for the upcoming elections on 12 October, fuelling speculation that the Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan) might soon follow suit.
However, Tej Pratap Yadav’s JJD was the first to make its move, releasing its candidate list ahead of the others. Tej Pratap himself will contest from the Mahua Assembly constituency in Vaishali district, the seat he previously won in the 2015 elections.
Taking to social media platform X, Tej Pratap stated that he is “fully dedicated and ready to work for the overall development of Bihar.” He added, “We aim to bring a complete transformation in Bihar and create a new system. We are prepared to fight a long battle for the state’s development.”
Sharing an image featuring his party’s election symbol, a blackboard, Tej Pratap included the slogan, “Power of the people, rule of the people… Tej Pratap will develop Bihar.” The poster also underscored the party’s core principles: “Social Justice,” “Social Rights,” and “Complete Change.”
According to the list, alongside Tej Pratap Yadav contesting from Mahua, the JJD candidates include Vikas Kumar Kavi (Belsan), Madan Yadav (Shahpur), Dr Gulshan Yadav (Bakhtiyarpur), Ajit Kushwaha (Bikramganj), Niraj Rai (Jagdishpur), Avinash (Atri), Prem Kumar (Wazirganj), Awadh Kishore Jha (Benipur), Shankar Yadav (Maner), Dinesh Kumar Surya (Dumao), Ashutosh (Govindganj), Meenu Kumari, Advocate (Patna Sahib), Sanjay Yadav (Madhepura), Taufiq Rahman (Narkatiyaganj), Dharmendra Krantikari (Barauli), Braj Bihari Bhat (Kuchaikot), Raviraj Kumar (Hisua), Jay Singh Rathi (Mahnar), Pushpa Kumari (Baniapur), and Surabhi Yadav (Mohiuddin Nagar).
The announcement signals the JJD’s early push into the electoral battlefield, setting the tone for what is expected to be a closely contested election in Bihar.
(With inputs from IANS)
