The Congress flag.
Credit: PTI File Photo
The Congress on Monday announced seven more candidates for the Bihar Assembly polls, taking the total number of names declared by the party to 61.
The Congress' list of six names was announced post-midnight, even as a formal seat-sharing deal has eluded the Mahagathbandhan with the RJD and the Congress, the two main constituents of the alliance, unable to reach an understanding.
According to the list of six candidates, the Congress fielded Surendra Prasad Kushwaha from Valmiki Nagar, Abidur Rehman from Araria, Jalil Mastan from Amour, Tauquir Alam from Barari, Praveen Singh Kushwaha from Kahalgaon and Vinod Chaudhary from Sikandra (SC).
Later, the party fielded Minnat Rahmani from the Supaul Assembly segment, reported PTI.
With this, sources said the final name had been announced and the party would contest for 61 seats, down from 70 last time.
Chinks in the I.N.D.I.A. bloc's armour became all too obvious on Sunday in poll-bound Bihar, where disgruntled aspirants in the RJD and the Congress had a field day charging the leadership with having put tickets up for sale.
The RJD escalated tensions by nominating former minister Suresh Paswan against Bihar Congress president Rajesh Ram, a sitting MLA from Kutumba in Aurangabad.
In at least 15 constituencies, the Congress, CPI and RJD have fielded rival candidates.
The last day for filing of nomination papers for the second and final phase is Monday.
The Congress and the RJD have continued to disburse party symbols.
The Congress on Thursday had 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.
Then on Friday, the party fielded Rishi Mishra from Jale, in a one-off announcement.
On Saturday, the party released a list of five candidates.
With PTI inputs