Bihar election 2025 live updates: Nomination filing process kicks off for first phase of state polls

Among those who filed their nomination papers on the first day of the Bihar Assembly elections was a familiar name — Lalu Prasad Yadav. But this wasn’t the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief; it was his lesser-known namesake from Saran district, who has built a quirky reputation as a serial election contestant.

The 45-year-old Lalu Prasad Yadav, an agriculturist from Jado Rahimpur village in Saran, filed his papers on Friday from the Marhaura Assembly constituency — part of the Saran Lok Sabha seat long associated with the original Lalu, who began his parliamentary career there in 1977.

Despite his enthusiasm for politics, this Lalu admits his campaigns are more driven by fascination than strategy. He struggles to recall where he last contested. “I think in the Lok Sabha I was a candidate from Maharajganj. In the Assembly bypolls, I contested either Tarari or Rupauli,” he told PTI.

On the first day of filing of nominations, only two persons, neither associated with a recognized party, turned up to submit papers, PTI reported.

Filing of nomination papers began in poll-bound Bihar on Friday when the RJD went on to inflict a blow on the ruling NDA by weaning away at least three prominent figures of the BJP-led coalition.

Smaller partners in the INDIA bloc, however, seemed to be running out of patience as the CPI(M) announced that it will ask both its sitting MLAs to file nomination papers next week while awaiting a consensus on another nine that it wanted to fight.

Till now, only Jan Suraaj Party of former political strategist Prashant Kishor and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party has made public some of its candidates.

Every election in Bihar brings with it a new dynamic with the same parties, mostly the similar faces and the usual issues – development, liquor ban, women empowerment, poverty and education among others. The journey of Bihar is something that all the political parties narrate, but with their own convenience. Hence the narrative – jungle raj vs sushashan.

The ruling BJP-led NDA alliance under CM Nitish Kumar boasts about their sushashan (rule of law), comparing it with the ‘jungle raj’ of Lalu Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi. But is this really the case? Has Bihar, a state that lived under decades of lawlessness, is now enjoying sushasan? READ MORE

Filing of nomination papers began on Friday for the elections to 121 seats in the first phase of the Bihar assembly polls, officials said.

The first round of the elections will be held on November 6.

Candidates can file their nomination papers til October 17, and the scrutiny of such documents will be held on the next day, according to a notification.

The last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 20 for the first phase of the assembly polls.

Patna, Darbhanga, Madhepura, Saharsa, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Vaishali, Samastipur, Begusarai, Lakhisarai, Munger, Sheikhpura, Nalanda, Buxar, and Bhojpur districts will go for polls in the first phase.

JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar says, “The alliance has taken the lead. It consists of five constituent parties, all of which are resolved to make Nitish Kumar the Chief Minister. This is a formality that will be completed in due course. Today marks the beginning of the first phase of nominations, so there is no need to worry. Just as Bihar has been made worry-free, the alliance will ensure there are no concerns within the coalition. Everything is under control”

NDA leaders, including Dharmendra Pradhan and Rajeev Ranjan (Lalan) Singh, meet at Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary’s residence.

On RJD Parliamentary Party Meeting, RJD MLA Bhai Virendra says, “Today the meeting has been called, which is the parliamentary board meeting of the RJD Parliamentary Party, in which we are members. We are going to attend the meeting, and afterward, we will discuss the opinions formed and the views sought there”

RJD Parliamentary Party convenes at Rabri Devi’s residence to discuss and strategise for the upcoming elections. Leaders arrive for the meeting.

On RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s poll promise of one government job to every household in Bihar, BJP leader Tarun Chugh says, “The INDIA alliance is a group of liars with a history of loot and plunder, they’ve stolen land by making employment promises. Now, those who have sold jobs in auctions are talking about jobs, while under Nitish’s leadership, Bihar’s employment and infrastructure development have reached a new height.”

Drama outside Rabri Devi’s house in Patna as RJD workers stage a protest outside, demanding poll ticket for party leader Saroj Yadav from Barhara Constituency.

On RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s poll promise of one government job to every household in Bihar, RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari says, “NDA never thinks about employment, not even in their dreams. Tejashwi Yadav, when he was the deputy CM, provided jobs as he has a vision. Now, he has announced this after careful planning, which worries the opposition, but the people of Bihar, every family, and the youth are happy because they know that when Tejashwi comes, every household will get a job.”

On RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s announcement of providing ‘government jobs in every household,’ BJP leader Ajay Alok says, “Just one fool is enough to destroy a garden; there are two in the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ and in Bihar… It took your grandmother 50 years to end poverty… “

“Grandmother passed away, father passed away, and now the grandson has come… There are a total of 2 crore 65 lakh jobs in the nation, and they alone will give 3 crore government jobs in Bihar… The BJP and Nitish Kumar said they would provide 19 lakh jobs, in which they gave 10 lakh government jobs and over 15 lakh jobs… Bihar got one fool who took Bihar back 50 years… And now there are two fools here, and the bigger fool is roaming around the world,” he added.

Seat sharing talks between the BJP and LJP (Ramvilas) are underway for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. d LJP (Ramvilas) chief Chirag Paswan in Delhi.

Seat sharing talks between the BJP and LJP (Ramvilas) are underway for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. This is the second day of the meeting between the two leaders.

Amid meetings on seat-sharing, BJP Bihar chief Dilip Jaiswal says, “Seat sharing and candidate list for Bihar polls will be announced in a day or two.”