BJP MP from Bihar's Muzaffarpur, Ajay Nishad, joins Congress

This comes after the BJP, in its fifth list of candidates, gave the election ticket to Raj Bhushan Nishad from Muzaffarpur, who was defeated by Ajay Nishad in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with more than 4 lakh 10 thousand votes.

After joining the Congress, Nishad said, "I always worked as per the party. They (the BJP) said that the survey was not good for me. The party leaders (of Congress Party) will decide this and I am ready (to contest elections)."

Earlier, while resigning from the BJP, the Muzaffarpur MP said that he was shocked by the betrayal of the BJP.

"Respected @JPNadda ji, shocked by the betrayal of @BJP4India, I resign from all posts and primary membership of the party," he posted on X.

In Bihar, the BJP has fielded Union ministers RK Singh from Arrah, Nityanand Rai from Ujiarpur, and Giriraj Singh from Begusarai. Former Union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib, Rajiv Pratap Rudy from Saran, Radha Mohan Singh from Purvi Champaran, and Ram Kripal Yadav from Pataliputra also figure on the list.

Sanjay Jaiswal will contest from Paschim Champaran, Ashok Kumar Yadav from Madhubani, Pradeep Kumar Singh from Araria, Gopal Jee Thakur from Darbhanga, Janardan Singh Sigriwal from Maharajganj, Mithilesh Tiwari from Buxar and Shivesh Ram will fight from Sasaram.

Bihar will witness polling for 40 Lok Sabha seats across all seven phases. In Phase 1, voting will be held on four seats. The state will witness polling on 5 seats each from Phase 2 to Phase 5. In Phases 6 and 7, elections will be held on 8 seats each.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the NDA, consisting of BJP, JDU (Janata Dal-United), and LJP (Lok Janshakti Party), secured victory by taking the lead on 39 out of 40 seats. Meanwhile, the Mahagathbandhan, led by RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal), INC (Indian National Congress), and RLSP (Rashtriya Lok Samta Party), only managed to secure one seat. (ANI)