LJP chief Chirag Paswan questioned Jan Suraj founder Prashant Kishor's decision not to contest the elections. He said, "How can workers trust a leader who cannot lead from the front?"

Amid the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, Jan Suraj Andolan founder Prashant Kishor's decision not to contest has created a stir in political circles. Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and Union Minister Chirag Paswan has strongly criticized the decision. Chirag Paswan said, "If you can't lead from the front, how will the party trust you? Prashant's decision will break the trust of party workers."

He also said that when a leader shies away from entering the field, it spreads disappointment among the workers.

Chirag Paswan, in his statement, questioned Prashant Kishor's political strategy and said that leadership does not only mean making plans, but also getting down to the ground and staying among the people.

#WATCH | Patna, Bihar | On Jan Suraaj Founder Prashant Kishor not contesting the elections, LJP(RV) chief & Union Minister Chirag Paswan says, "If you can't lead from the front, how will the party believe in you? Prashant ji's decision will break the confidence of their party… pic.twitter.com/J8YoqtWzES

— ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2025

Elections for 243 assembly seats

The 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections have now reached a decisive stage. The nomination process for the second phase of the 243 assembly seats in the state concluded on Monday. The deadline for withdrawal of nominations for the first phase of 121 seats also ended. The first phase of voting in Bihar will be held on November 6th, while the second phase is scheduled for November 11th. The election results will be declared on November 14th. The atmosphere among political parties and candidates has now become fully election-oriented. Public meetings, campaign campaigns, and debates on local issues have intensified.

1314 candidates are in the fray in the first phase.

According to data shared by the Election Commission, a total of 1,375 candidates filed nominations in the first phase. After scrutiny, all nominations were found to be valid, but 61 candidates later withdrew their nominations. Now, 1,314 candidates are contesting for the 121 seats in the first phase, which will be contested on November 6th. These include candidates from various political parties as well as a large number of independents.