The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar suffered a major setback on Saturday, October 18, 2025, after the nomination papers of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) candidate Seema Singh were rejected during scrutiny for the Marhaura Assembly seat ahead of next month’s elections.
According to officials, Ms. Singh’s candidature was dismissed due to discrepancies in the documents submitted to the returning officer. Representing Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas), Ms. Singh was contesting under the NDA’s seat-sharing arrangement, which allocated 29 constituencies to the party.
Seema Singh, a well-known Bhojpuri actress with a career spanning over 500 films across multiple Indian languages, was among five candidates whose papers were rejected. Others included Madhubala Giri from The Plurals Party, JD(U) rebel Altaf Alam running as an Independent, another Independent Vishal Kumar, and BSP candidate Aditya Kumar.
With her disqualification, the contest in Marhaura now narrows to a face-off between RJD’s Jitendra Rai and Jan Suraaj Party’s Naveen Kumar Singh alias Abhay Singh. Polling in the constituency is scheduled for November 6, during the first phase of elections.
Meanwhile, political tensions are rising elsewhere in Bihar. Sitting JD(U) MLA Gopal Mandal filed his nomination as an Independent after being denied a party ticket, calling it a “do-or-die battle.” Similarly, BJP leader and current Narkatiyaganj MLA Rashmi Verma announced her decision to contest independently after being dropped by her party, warning that “history could repeat itself.”
As campaigning intensifies, top BJP leaders, including Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel, Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini, Goa CM Pramod Sawant, and Tripura CM Manik Saha, have joined nomination rallies across the state, urging voters to back the NDA for “development and good governance.”
The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation has also released its list of 20 candidates under the Opposition’s alliance, including six from Scheduled Caste communities and one woman candidate from Digha.
