In its first list for Bihar, the Congress party on April 2 announced names of three candidates from the Kishanganj, Katihar, and Bhagalpur Lok Sabha seats. Under the mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) seat sharing arrangement in the State, of a total 40 Parliamentary seats, Congress will contest on nine while alliance partner Rashtriya Janata Dal on 26 and three Left parties on five seats.
On the Kishanganj seat, the Congress has named Mohammad Jawed while senior party leader Tariq Anwar will contest from the Katihar seat and from the Bhagalpur seat, party MLA Ajeet Sharma has been named. Under the mahagathbandhan coalition, the Congress in Bihar is contesting on nine seats: Kishanganj, Katihar, Bhagalpur, West Champaran, Samastipur (reserved), Muzaffarpur, Sasaram (reserved), Maharajganj, and Patna Sahib.
From the Kishanganj seat, party has repeated its sitting MP Mohammad Jawed who was the lone winner from mahagathbandhan block in the 2019 Lok Sabha election as the remaining 39 seats had gone to the National Democratic Allaince kitty. The Congress candidate from Kishanganj will be pitted against Mujahid Alam of the Janata Dal (United) as an NDA candidate. Kishanganj will vote in the second phase on April 26.
On the Katihar seat, the party has fielded senior leader Tariq Anwar who has been five-time MP from the seat. However, in last 2019 Lok Sabha election, Mr. Anwar was defeated by the JD(U) candidate Dulal Chandra Goswami who once again will be contesting against Mr. Anwar from the seat. In October 2018, Mr. Anwar had quit the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to rejoin the Congress, which he had be associated with since 1972. He has also been member of the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra. Katihar goes to election in the second phase on April 26.
From the Bhagalpur Lok Sabha seat, the Congress has named MLA Ajeet Sharma as its candidate. Mr. Sharma is three-time MLA from Bhagalpur and he also has been Congress Legislative Party leader in Bihar Assembly from November 2020 to June 2023. Later, he was replaced by other party leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan as Congress LP leader in the State Assembly. His two daughters, Neha Sharma and Aisha Sharma, are Bollywood actresses. Bhagalpur will also go to poll in the second phase on April 26.
Meanwhile, the BJP’s sitting MP from Muzaffarpur Ajay Nishad joined Congress party on Tuesday and is likely to be party’s candidate from the seat. The BJP this time had dumped him and has fielded a greenhorn Raj Bhushan Nishad as party candidate from Muzaffarpur seat.
