Overview

• The Election Commission’s two-phase Bihar poll schedule is set for November 6 and 11 with counting on November 14, and nominations for the first phase opened on Friday.
• BJP negotiator Nityanand Rai and LJP(RV) chief Chirag Paswan said talks were “positive,” with sources indicating the LJP(RV) has scaled its ask to about 35 seats while the BJP has offered roughly 25, with hurdles over specific constituencies.
• BJP leaders say shortlisted candidates will go to the Central Election Committee for approval this weekend, with the party’s first list expected shortly afterward.
• In the opposition bloc, RJD and Congress remain stuck over five constituencies and have yet to settle the question of projecting Tejashwi Yadav as the chief ministerial face.
• New variables entered the race as Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj released its first list of 51 candidates and former JD(U) MP Santosh Kushwaha prepared to join the RJD.