The Rashtriya Janata Dal on Monday released its list of candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections, fielding contenders for 143 of the state’s 243 seats.

Party leader Tejashwi Yadav will contest from his stronghold, Raghopur in Vaishali district.

The last date for filing nominations for the second and final phase of polling is Monday. The elections will be held in two phases, on November 6 and November 11, with counting scheduled for November 14.

The RJD released the list amid uncertainty over seat sharing arrangement within the Opposition Mahagathbandhan alliance.

The alliance comprises the RJD, Congress, Vikassheel Insaan Party, three Left parties – Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Communist Party of India, and Communist Party of India (Marxist) – and the newly-formed Indian Inclusive Party.

The Congress also announced seven more candidates, PTI reported.

With these additions, the party now has 61 candidates in the fray this year. The Congress contested 70 seats in the 2020 Assembly elections.

Meanwhile, the three Left parties have together announced 20 candidates, The New Indian Express reported.

On Monday, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, which is part of the INDIA bloc at the Centre, announced that it would not contest the Bihar Assembly elections. The party had earlier said that it would contest the elections independently alleging “disrespect” by the alliance members over seat sharing.

On Friday, Pashupati Kumar Paras’s Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party quit the INDIA bloc, citing “betrayal” in seat-sharing talks.

Under the ruling National Democratic Alliance’s seat-sharing arrangement, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (United) will contest 101 seats each.

The Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party has been allotted 29 seats, while the Rashtriya Lok Morcha and Hindustani Awam Morcha will contest six seats each.

In the 2020 Assembly polls, the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan ended up with an identical vote share at 37.2%.

However, the NDA returned to power in Bihar with a slender majority, winning 125 seats in the 243-member state Assembly. The Opposition bagged 110 seats.

The RJD, led by Lalu Prasad Yadav, emerged as the single-largest party with 75 seats but still lost the election.

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