Bihar 2025 elections: Jan Suraaj releases second list; Prashant Kishor not among 65 names
Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) on Monday announced its second list of candidates for the 2025 Bihar Assembly election. The party named candidates for 65 more seats, but its chief strategist and founder, Prashant Kishor, did not feature in the lineup. With this announcement, the JSP has declared candidates for 116 of the 243 assembly constituencies in the state.
At a press conference in Patna, Kishor detailed the new list. He said, “In the first list, we announced 51 candidates. Now we have added 65 more. The remaining names will be released soon.” The party’s latest lineup includes Niraj Singh from Sheohar, Md Ekramul Haque from Thakurganj in Kishanganj, Amir Haider from Bahadurpur in Darbhanga, and Durga Prasad Singh from Ujarpur in Samastipur.
Kishor emphasised the party’s focus on social representation and clean image. “Among the 116 candidates so far, 31 come from extremely backward sections, 21 from OBCs, and 21 are Muslims,” he said. The selection, he added, aims to maintain Bihar’s social balance while giving new faces a chance to enter politics.
The JSP had surprised many last week by becoming the first party to release a candidate list, signalling its readiness for an early start. The first list included well-known names like KC Sinha, the former vice-chancellor of Patna University and Nalanda Open University, who will contest from Kumhara. Retired IPS officer RK Mishra has been fielded from Darbhanga. Kishor said the party intends to provide an alternative to the traditional power blocs in Bihar politics.
Meanwhile, the announcement came a day after the ruling NDA finalised its seat-sharing deal. The BJP and JD(U) decided to contest 101 seats each, while Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) got 29. Smaller allies — Rashtriya Lok Morcha and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) — will fight six seats each.
As the election battle heats up, Jan Suraaj positions itself as a challenger to both the NDA and the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan. Kishor has not yet declared whether he will contest himself, keeping speculation alive about his electoral debut. With 116 candidates already announced, the party signals its intent to make a serious bid for power in Bihar’s 2025 polls.
