Bihar Elections 2025: BJP Tries to Be Wiser against Nepotism

Sources reveal BJP’s shift towards fresh faces without family ties, as a senior leader faces rejection for pushing spouse’s candidacy.

By MANISH ANAND

Patna, October 8, 2025 — Bihar state election committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has finalized a list of 110 prospective candidates for the Assembly elections in the next month. The BJP Central Election Committee (CEC) will now meet shortly to discuss the list approved by the state unit.

Amid hectic lobbying by BJP leaders for tickets to their kins, the saffron outfit is learnt to have sent out a firm message against nepotism. One former Union minister had approached a top-ranking leader of the BJP to seek ticket for his son to contest the Assembly election. But the top BJP functionary firmly snubbed, saying ‘if you want to contest, then let me know but we will not give ticket to your son.’ A BJP worker will get the ticket to contest the elections; he told the ex-Union Minister.

Sources said that the BJP is according preference to young leaders with no family background for party tickets. Sources said that a senior BJP leader has also been snubbed for seeking party ticket for his spouse.

It has also been reliably learnt that Bihar deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary may be asked to contest from Patna City Assembly constituency with strategic purposes. “While he hails from Tarapur in the Munger district, the BJP needs consolidation of the Kushwaha vote base in the Magadh and the Shahabad regions where the party had faced heartburns in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” said a senior BJP functionary.

While the BJP Bihar unit has finalised candidates for 110 seats, the party may have to contest on lesser number of constituencies. “If the BJP gets lesser number of seats to contest in the seat adjustment within the NDA, some of the candidates may be adjusted elsewhere,” sources said.

The BJP had faced brickbats within the party for fielding kins of the party leaders in the 2020 Assembly elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in contrast, has stated that he would encourage one lakh youth to join politics with political backgrounds.

It has been reliably learnt that both the JD (U) and the BJP will leave additional seats to accommodate the smaller NDA allies, who may be given 30-40 seats to share among them. Bihar has a total of 243 Assembly seats. The JD (U) had contested 115 Assembly seats in 2020, while the BJP had fielded its nominees on 110 seats.

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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