Tejashwi Yadav names RJD candidates for 18 seats; Sharad Yadav fielded from Madhepura, Misa Bharti from Pataliputra

PATNA: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav announced the names of candidates contesting from 18 seats in Bihar's mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) at a press conference on Friday. Loktantrik Janata Dal chief Sharad Yadav will contest from Madhepura while Chandrika Prasad Rai, father-in-law of Lalu Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap, has been fielded from Saran constituency. The party once again fielded Sarfraz Alam from Araria and Misa Bharti from Pataliputra, which she lost to RJD rebel leader Ram Kripal Yadav in 2014. 

RJD will contest on 19 seats including Bhagalpur, Madhepura, Darbhanga, Vaishali, Gopalganj, Maharajganj, Saran, Hajipur, Begusarai, Pataliputra, Buxar, Jehanabad, Araria, Sitamarhi and Sheohar. Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation, which was given one seat from the RJD quota, will contest from Arrah.

The party will announce the candidate's name for Sheohar constitution later.

RJD Candidates: 

Bhagalpur - Bulo Mandal,
Banka - Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav
Madhepura - Sharad Yadav
Darbhanga - Abdul Bari Siddiqui
Vaishali - Raghuvansh Prasad Singh,
Gopalganj - Surendra Ram alias Mahant
Siwan - Hina Saheb
Maharajganj - Randhir Singh
Saran - Chandrika Rai
Hajipur - Shivchandra Ram
Begusarai - Mohammad Tanveer Hasan
Pataliputra - Misa Bharti
Jahanabad - Surendra Yadav
Sitamarhi - Arjun Rai
Buxar - Jagdanand Singh
Nawada - Vibha Devi
Jhanjharpur - Gulab Yadav
Araria - Sarfaraz Alam
Sheohar - Candidate to be announced late

After days of hectic negotiations, Bihar's mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) announced its final seat-sharing deal for the upcoming Lok Sabha election 2019 on March 22. The RJD will contest on 20 seats, Congress on nine seats, Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) on five seats, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) on three seats each and Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation on one seat (from RJD quota).