Barely 24 hours before the process of filing nominations for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections gets over, the Congress on Wednesday released its first list of 21 candidates.
Election for the first phase in the three-phase election will be held on October 28.
The party nominated Shubhanand Mukesh, who is the son of the Congress Legislature Party leader in Bihar Sadanand Singh, a nine-term MLA, for the Kahalgaon Assembly seat.
Even though the list was formally released late on Wednesday evening, Mr. Mukesh had already filed his nomination as the party’s candidate earlier in the day.
Another notable candidate was Akhauri Onkar Nath from Gaya, who was a last minute replacement as the party’s earlier nominee, a powerful local politician, was dropped following rape charges against him.
On Tuesday, The Hindu had reported that the party had withheld three names as they faced serious charges of crimes against women.
Former Bihar Youth Congress chief Lallan Yadav has been given a ticket from the Sultanganj seat.
The last minute announcement was part of the party’s strategy to avoid a backlash from aspirants who did not find a place among the successful candidates, said a source. Of the 21 candidates, while five sittings MLAs have found a place, an equal number of newcomers who recently joined the party have also been accommodated, creating a sense of resentment among party old-timers.
“The central leaders knew that if they had announced the names earlier, then there would have been greater scrutiny. That’s why they individually informed the candidates on phone to keep their papers ready but announced the list only now,” said a Bihar Congress leader who did not wish to be named.
Earlier, the central election committee of the party, headed by party chief Sonia Gandhi, cleared their names.
The Congress will be contesting on 70 seats as part of the Rashtriya Janata Dal-led ‘grand alliance’ in Bihar.
Polling in the three phase elections will be held on October 28, November 3 and November 7.
