New Delhi, 16 Oct

The Congress on Thursday released its first list of 48 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, fielding its state unit chief Rajesh Ram from Kutumba seat and CLP leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan from Kadwa.

The party announced the candidates even before finalising the seat-sharing arrangement with its Mahagathbandhan allies, including the RJD.

The last date for filing nominations for the first phase of polls is 17 October, while that for the second phase is 20 October.

The Congress leadership has been in talks with its alliance partners, including the RJD and the Left.

According to the list, the party has fielded Bihar YouthCongress chief Prakash Garib Das from Bachhwada seat. Jayesh Mangal Singh will contest from Bagaha, Amit Giri from Nautan and Abhishek Ranjan from Chanpatia seat.

From Bettiah seat, the party has fielded Wasi Ahmed, while Shyam Bihari Prasad will be its candidate from Raxaul. From Govindgan seat, the Congress named Shashi Bhushan Rai alias Gappu Rai as its candidate, while Amit Kumar Singh Tunna has been fielded from Riga.

Party leader Navin Kumar has been fielded from the Bathnaha-SC seat, Nalini Ranjan Jha from Benipatti constituency and Subodh Mandal from the Phulparas seat.

From Forbesganj, the Congress has fielded Manoj Vishwas, from the Bahadurganj seat, it has fielded Maswar Alam and Manohar Prasad Singh from the Manihari seat.

Punam Paswan will contest the Korha seat, Sarita Devi from Sonbarsha-SC seat, Mithilesh Kumar Chaudhary from Benipur, and Umesh Ram Saritafrom Sakra.

The Congress has fielded Bijendra Chaudhary from Muzaffarpur, Om Parkash Garg from Gopalganj seat, Hari Narain Kushwah from Kuchaikote seat and Aditya Kumar Raja from Lalganj seat.

Sanjeev Singh will be the Congress candidate from the Vaishali seat, Pratima Kumari from Raja Pakar-SC seat, Braj Kishore Ravi from Rosera-SC constituency and Shiv Prakash Garib Das from Bachhwara seat.

From Begusarai, the Congress fielded Amita Bhushan, from Khagaria it fielded Chandan Yadav, and from Beldaur it nominated Mithlesh Kumar Nishad. Ajeet Kumar Sharma has been fielded from Bhagalpur.

Lalan Yadav will be the Congress candidate from Sultanganj, Jitendra Singh from Amarpur, Amresh Kumar (Anish) from Lakhisarai and Trisuldhari Singh from Barbigha, Omair Khan from Bihar Sharif and Kaushlendra Kumar from Nalanda.