INDIA muddle: RJD, Congress, and VIP in ‘friendly fight’ in seven constituencies

Even as nominations for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly election ended on Friday (October 17, 2025), there was yet no official announcement on seat-sharing arrangements in the INDIA bloc. Only the Congress released its first list of 48 candidates on Thursday (October 16) night.

While no other party in the alliance has released its candidate list, many, including INDIA bloc coordination committee head and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, have filed their nominations.

Also Read: Bihar Assembly election highlights: October 17, 2025

There have been a series of meetings and dialogues from Delhi to Patna but no leader was able to make an official declaration over seat-sharing or candidate list.

The RJD, the Congress, and the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) continued to distribute tickets until the last day of nominations for the first phase of the election. This has led to the alliance partners facing each other in contests in at least seven seats.

While INDIA bloc leaders call these friendly fights, the ruling parties project it as confrontation within the alliance.

The ‘friendly’ contests

In Vaishali, the RJD has fielded Ajay Kumar Kushwaha and the Congress Sanjeev Kumar. In Tarapur, RJD’s Arun Shah is facing VIP’s Sakaldeo Bind. In Bachwara, Communist Party of India (CPI) has fielded Abdesh Kumar Rai, while the Congress has named Shiv Prakash Garib Das.

In Gaura-Bauram, VIP chief Mukesh Sahani has fielded his younger brother Santosh Sahani, whereas the RJD has fielded Afzal Ali Khan. In Lalganj, the RJD has given the party ticket to Shivani Shukla, and for which the Congress has named Aditya Kumar Raja.

There is also a contest between the CPI’s Mohit Paswan and the Congress’s Pratima Kumari in Rajapakar. In Rosera, Laxman Paswan of the CPI is pitted against the Congress’s Braj Kishore K Ravi.

Meanwhile, VIP chief Mukesh Sahani on Friday (October 17) announced that he will not contest the upcoming Assembly election.

He asserted that he will work hard and give all his efforts to campaign for his party’s candidates across the State. He was set to contest from Gaura-Bauram constituency in Darbhanga. However, his younger brother Santosh Sahani filed the nomination for the seat today.

“I have decided not to contest this Assembly election. My focus will be on ensuring the victory of our candidates and strengthening the party’s presence everywhere in Bihar,” Mr. Sahani said after attending his brother’s nomination in Darbhanga.

Want to become Deputy CM: Sahani

When asked about a possible election to the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Sahani said that he is not interested in going to the Rajya Sabha and wants to become the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar.

The Congress has also released a list of 40 star campaigners for the Bihar election. The list includes Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled States as well as presidents of various State units have also been included in the list.

Many candidates filed their nomination on the last day for the first phase of election, including Ministers Mangal Pandey and Jibesh Mishra from Siwan and Jale respectively. Folk singer Maithil Thakur and Bhojpuri singer Khesari Lal Yadav also filed their nomination from Alinagar and Chapra respectively.

Meanwhile, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is still waiting for the official confirmation of the number of seats from the RJD’s quota as Chief Minister Hemant Soren had given six seats to the party in the Jharkhand Assembly election in 2024.

For the bypoll in Ghatsila in Jharkhand, BJP candidate Babulal Soren and JMM candidate Somesh Chandra Soren filed their nomination today.