Neha, who starred in Crook and has over 20 million Instagram followers, has been a familiar face during elections in Bhagalpur. Her presence always turns heads, but whether her charm translates into votes remains uncertain. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, despite her energetic roadshows and selfie sessions with supporters, Ajeet Sharma lost the Bhagalpur seat to JDU’s Ajay Kumar Mandal by over one lakh votes.

In the 2020 Assembly election, Sharma barely held onto Bhagalpur by a margin of just 1,113 votes over BJP’s Rohit Pandey — less than 1% of total votes. Analysts say the split caused by LJP’s candidate Nilam Devi, who bagged over 20,000 votes, likely gave him the edge. Without that wildcard, Bhagalpur might have gone to the BJP.

Ajeet Sharma’s political journey has been one of perseverance. After decades of defeats to BJP’s Ashwini Kumar Choubey, he finally secured the seat in the 2014 by-poll following Choubey’s move to the Union Cabinet. He retained it in 2015 and 2020, but his position now faces another test.

As Bhagalpur votes again, the big question is — can “Bhagalpur ki beti” Neha Sharma’s star power help her father beat the odds? With results due on November 14, Congress supporters hope her celebrity shine will turn into votes, not just viral moments.

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A total of 23 candidates who lost the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 have entered the state polls. Out of them, 18 are contesting directly, while five have fielded their family members. RJD has given tickets to 12 of its former Lok Sabha runners-up. The list includes Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav, Lalit Kumar Yadav, Kumar Sarvjeet, and several others.

From the JDU and BJP, six former candidates are again in the race. Chandeshwar Chandravanshi and Dulalchand Goswami represent JDU, while Ramkripal Yadav and Mithilesh Tiwari are contesting for BJP. Congress, CPI(ML), and CPI(M) have also nominated leaders who narrowly lost parliamentary seats. Even family members of MPs—Chetan Anand and Komal Singh—are entering the Assembly contest.

Their comeback bid shows the high political stakes and determination shaping the Bihar Elections this season.

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Paras, who quit the NDA after a poor 2024 performance, aims to rebuild his political base. His RLJP failed to win any seat, while Chirag Paswan’s LJP(R) won all five it contested. Following this, Paras ended ties with the BJP-led NDA in April 2025 and joined hands with the Grand Alliance.

The uncle-nephew feud began in 2021 when the party split into two factions — Chirag’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Paras’s Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party. Now, Paras seems determined to challenge Chirag’s dominance and regain lost ground. Political analysts expect RLJP to win 2–3 seats this time, making the Pashupati Paras vs Chirag Paswan clash a key highlight of the Bihar elections.

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When asked directly, Gandhi said, “All INDIA bloc partners are working together in a spirit of mutual respect, without any tension. We will contest the polls together and the results will be good.” His answer was seen as a clear attempt to sidestep the issue. Yadav, who was sitting beside him, had recently pitched Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate for the next Lok Sabha elections.

Reacting strongly, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya posted on X that Congress’ existence in Bihar rests solely on RJD. He added that if RJD walked away from the alliance, Congress would not be able to field candidates in all constituencies.

Malviya further attacked the opposition, saying Gandhi’s refusal showed arrogance. He also alleged that Congress and RJD are clinging to each other only for the sake of power, claiming that “the glue of corruption” is what binds them together.

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