Lok Sabha elections: NDA allies to announce names of candidates today

PATNA: With the Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance finally taking its shape in the state, the NDA is all set to announce the names of its candidates on Saturday.

State presidents of all the three constituents of the NDA — JD(U), BJP and LJP — will formally declare the names of the candidates at the BJP office here around 11am. BJP national general secretary Bhupendra Yadav and deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi will also be present on the occasion.

BJP state president Nityanand Rai said the seats that the NDA will contest in the coming Lok Sabha elections in the state have already been decided and the names of the candidates will be declared on Saturday. “Party national general secretary Bhupendra Yadav will also be present in Patna to attend the programme,” he said.

While the BJP and JD(U) will contest 17 seats each, the LJP will field its candidates on six seats. JD(U) state president Bashishtha Narayan Singh and his LJP counterpart Pashupati Nath Paras said they would formally announce the names of the candidates on Saturday as the process of filing of nominations had already started.

The last day of filing of nominations for the first phase is March 25. The scrutiny of the papers will he held on March 27 and the last day of withdrawal of candidates’ name is March 28. Four constituencies — Aurangabad, Gaya (SC), Nawada and Jamui (SC) — will go to polls in the first phase on April 11.

According to the announcement by the leaders of the three constituents of the NDA, the BJP will contest from West Champaran (Bettiah), East Champaran (Motihari), Muzaffarpur, Saran, Maharajganj, Sheohar, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Ujiarpur, Begusarai, Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Ara, Buxar, Sasaram, Aurangabad and Araria.

The JD(U) will field its candidates from Valmikinagar, Siwan, Gopalganj, Jehanabad, Gaya, Karakat,

Madhepura

, Supaul, Jhanjharpur, Sitamarhi, Purnia,

Kishanganj

, Banka, Bhagalpur, Munger, Nalanda and Katihar constituencies. Similarly, Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s party LJP will be contesting the Lok Sabha seats of Hajipur, Samastipur, Jamui, Nawada, Khagaria and Vaishali.