Owaisi's AIMIM Announces First List Of Candidates For Bihar Assembly Elections, Set To Contest 100 Seats

Kishanganj: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Bihar Chief Akhtarul Iman on Sunday announced the first list of candidates for the assembly polls, asserting that the party tried to prevent the "dispersion of secular votes" and "unite against communal forces," but big coalition parties did not "cooperate."

He said the party will contest seats across districts, including Kishanganj, Purnia, Katihar, and Araria, marking the formation of a third alliance amid limited cooperation from larger coalition parties.

Speaking to mediapersons in Kishanganj, Iman said, "AIMIM Bihar attempted to prevent the dispersion of secular votes and unite against communal forces, but larger coalition parties did not cooperate, leading to the formation of a third alliance. We are going to contest the election in four districts of Kishanganj."

He added that the party will also field candidates across multiple seats in districts including Kishanganj, Purnia, Katihar, Araria, Gaya, Motihari, Nawada, Jamui, Bhagalpur, Siwan, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Vaishali, and Gopalganj.

The voting for the 243 assembly constituencies of Bihar will take place in two phases on November 6 and November 11, while the counting of votes will take place on November 14.

Earlier in the day, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, repeated his poll promise of providing a government job to every family.

"The family that does not have a government job will get a government job, and from November 14 onwards, the people of Bihar will be free from unemployment," Yadav said while speaking to the media.

The primary contest in Bihar is between the incumbent National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and the Mahagathbandhan led by the RJD. In the current Bihar Assembly, comprising 243 members, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) consists of 131 members, with the BJP having 80 MLAs, JD(U) having 45, HAM(S) having 4, and the support of 2 Independent candidates.

National Democratic Alliance (NDA) includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United) (JDU), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha.

The INDIA bloc includes the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML) led by Deepankar Bhattacharya, the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), and Mukesh Sahani's Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP).

Prashant Kishor, the founder of Jan Suraaj, is also in the fray.