BJP, Jan Suraaj Party, HAM(S) name candidates for Bihar bypolls; BJP leader R.C.P. Singh to form new party

Bihar bypolls feature BJP, Jan Suraaj Party, and Hindustani Awam Morcha candidates; R.C.P. Singh to form new party.

In Bihar where four Assembly constituencies — Ramgarh, Taraari, Belaganj and Imamganj — are going to bypolls on November 13, the BJP, the newly formed Jan Suraaj Party of Prashant Kishor and Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) on Saturday (October 19, 2024) candidates to some of the seats. Meanwhile, former Union Minister and BJP leader R.C.P. Singh announced that he would form a new party and snap ties with the BJP.

The BJP has announced that Vishal Prashant will contest from Tarari and Ashok Kumar Singh from Ramgarh.

The Jan Suraaj Party, after naming former Lieutenant General Sri Krishna Singh for Tarari, has announced pediatrician Jitendra Paswan for Imamganj (reserved) and academician Khilafat Hussain for Belaganj. Mr. Paswan is popular in Imamganj for helping people during the COVID pandemic. Mr. Hussain is a renowned mathematics teacher. Mr. Kishor had earlier announced that Muslims would get fair share of ticket distribution in the party in the Assembly elections next year.

Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), a NDA constituent, has named Deepa Manjhi, daughter-in-law of party chief and Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Jitan Ram Manjhi, as the candidate for Imamganj in Gaya district. Imamganj Assembly seat was vacated after Mr. Manjhi who won from here in the 2020 Assembly polls was elected to Lok Sabha from Gaya in the 2024 general elections.

The Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal is likely to field Vishwanath Yadav, son of party MP Surendra Prasad Yadav, for Belaganj. Mr. Surendra, who was elected MLA from Belaganj in 2020, vacated the seat after winning from Jehanabad LS seat in 2024. Ruling party JD(U) is likely to name Manorama Devi (from Yadav community) for Belaganj, which has traditionally been a stronghold of the Yadav community.

Belaganj has also a sizeable population of Muslim voters. Mr. Kishor, by fielding a Muslim candidate here, has aimed at weakening the traditional MY(Muslim-Yadav) vote bank of Rashtriya Janata Dal. “When two candidates from Yadav community (of RJD and JD(U)) contest, there is a fair chance for a Muslim candidate to bag the seat this time, and this could be Mr. Kishor’s strategy for the Belaganj bypoll”, said political analyst Nawal Kishore Choudhary.

The parties are yet to announce their candidates for the Ramgarh seat. The RJD may field Ajit Singh, son of party State president Jagdanand Singh, for the seat. The Ramgarh seat fell vacant after Sudhakar Singh, brother of Ajit Singh, who represented it was elected to Lok Sabha from Buxar in 2024. Ajit Singh was formerly with the JD(U).