Patna, October 6: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday declared the first list of candidates for upcoming Bihar assembly elections 2020. The party named a total of 27 candidates along with the seats allotted to them in the list. The announcement was made shortly after the BJP addressed a joint press conference with ally Janata Dal (United) to confirm the 50:50 seat-sharing pact. Bihar Assembly Elections 2020: JD(U) Allotted 122 Seats, BJP to Fight on 121, Says CM Nitish Kumar.

Shooter Shreyasi Singh, who had recently joined the BJP, was also named among the first batch of party candidates in Bihar. She would be fielded from the politically crucial constituency of Jamui, currently represented by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA Vijay Prakash.

BJP First List: Check Names of All 27 Candidates

The polls in Bihar would be held in three phases - on October 28, November 3 and 7. The counting of votes has been scheduled by the Election Commission on November 10. The electoral battle in Bihar is the first major polling exercise since the outbreak of COVID-19 in India.

The release of BJP's first candidates' list was preceded by a high drama in the NDA camp, with ally Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) quitting the coalition to mark their angst against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. "We have ideological differences with JD(U), cannot contest under his leadership," the Chirag Paswan-led party said in a statement on Sunday.

With the LJP's exit, the decks were cleared for a 50-50 division of seats between the BJP and the JD(U). The latter will contest on 122 constituencies, but will accommodate seven candidates of Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM(S). The BJP, from its share of 121 seats, will accommodate Vikassheel Insaf Party (VIP) if the negotiations with party leader Mukesh Sahni bears fruition.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 06, 2020 09:45 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).