After weeks of intense talks with its main ally, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress announced a list of 48 candidates late Thursday for the Bihar assembly elections. The announcement, which was made just hours before the November 6 deadline for filing nominations in the first phase covering 121 constituencies, highlights the chaos within the opposition INDIA bloc and is the first time in recent memory that a political alliance has descended into chaos over seat allocations. It also poses a threat to the grand anti-BJP front as the campaign intensifies.

After requesting 25–30 seats, Mukesh Sahni's Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) was given 15. Sahni would submit his nomination from Gaur Boram (Darbhanga) today.
The action was taken in the midst of rising tensions, with local Congress leaders caught off guard by the AICC's sudden takeover of negotiations following the repeated failure of Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) officials to reach an agreement.

According to a senior party official who spoke on condition of anonymity, "the AICC stepped in because our state unit couldn't navigate the RJD's intransigence." Senior Bihar Congress officials had wanted to run for at least 61 seats, including the 70 seats they fought for in 2020 and won 19 of, which would have challenged the NDA's hegemony in a number of areas.

At the AICC headquarters in Delhi, high-stakes parleys are still going on, and party sources are hopeful that they will win the fiercely contested seats of Maharajganj, Jale, and Narkatiaganj in the first phase.In response, an RJD spokesperson threatened to launch retaliatory candidate announcements if concessions weren't made, saying, "We have waited long enough; these are our seats by right."

AICC general secretary KC Venugopal revealed the Congress list, which emphasises first-phase battlegrounds and combines new andWith a mix of rural voters and migrant worker impacts, the Congress party has selected the constituencies where it has done well in the 2020 assembly polls. The RJD is unwavering, though, and has staked claims not only on these but also on Kahalgaon, its historic stronghold in the Bhagalpur district, which has a large Yadav-Muslim population.An RJD spokeswoman struck back, implying that if compromises aren't made, retaliatory candidate announcemenWith a mix of rural voters and migrant worker impacts, the Congress party has selected the constituencies where it has done well in the 2020 assembly polls. The RJD is unwavering, though, and has staked claims not only on these but also on Kahalgaon, its historic stronghold in the Bhagalpur district, which has a large Yadav-Muslim population.

An RJD spokeswoman struck back, implying that if compromises aren't made, retaliatory candidate announcements would follow. "We have waited long enough; these are our seats by right," the spokesperson said.

AICC general secretary KC Venugopal revealed the Congress list, which emphasises first-phase battlegrounds and combines new and experienced candidates with a preference for Scheduled Caste and Extremely Backward Class representation.