Bihar BJP list: Seventy one years of independence may have changed the shape of politics in Bihar, but political parties continue to bank on caste equations to win the elections. In 2014, when Janata Dal (United) of Nitish Kumar contested general elections alone for the first time in 20 years, it was expecting to decimate the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but his decision to walk out of the NDA backfired.
Although the BJP lacks a powerful leadership in the state, it has been playing a crucial role in defining the dynamics of the state’s politics. In the state Legislative Assembly, it gained majority for the first time with JD(U) in 2005 and remained in the power till 2013. The party remained in opposition for four years before Nitish dissolved the grand alliance government and rejoined the NDA to form a stable government.
In the previous general elections held in 2014, the party rode high on anti-Congress sentiments and a Modi wave helped its scored big in the state. The saffron party won 22 seats on its own. Barring the LJP and RLSP, the two parties which contested elections in an agreement with the BJP, all the other parties were decimated. The JD(U) won only two seats out of 40 it had contested and RJD of Lalu Prasad Yadav bagged four seats.
Five years later, the scenario has changed and the two parties have once again come together to contest the elections. The BJP and JD(U) will contest 17 seats each in the state. The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) will contest from six seats.
Below is the list of constituencies and candidates the BJP will contest in Bihar in the Lok Sabha polls:
1. Purvi Champaran
2. Paschim Champaran
3. Sheohar
4. Madhuvani
5. Darbhanga
6. Muzaffarpur
7. Saran
8. Ujiarpur
9. Begusarai
10. Patna Sahib
11. Pataliputra
12. Arrah
13. Buxar
14. Sasaram
15. Aurangabad
16. Arariya
17. Maharajganj
The state has 40 parliamentary constituencies and will go to polls in seven phases. The first phase will be held on April 11 and the last on May 19. Results will be declared on May 23.