Bihar Elections 2025: BJP's Samrat Choudhary Faces RJD's Arun Kumar in High-Stakes Tarapur Contest

One of the most keenly-watched contests, Tarapur—constituency number 164 in the Bihar Assembly, sits in the Munger district and falls under the Jamui Lok Sabha seat. The region has long been a laboratory of caste arithmetic, dominated by backward communities, which has shaped its political outcomes for decades.

Since 1951, Tarapur has voted 19 times, including two bypolls. The seat has never belonged to one party for too long. The Congress ruled it in the early decades (five wins), while the JD(U) and its earlier avatar, the Samata Party, strengthened their hold later (six wins). The RJD has bagged it three times; smaller outfits and even an Independent have tasted victory once each.

The constituency has a mix of OBCs, Scheduled Castes, Muslims and other communities. Seasonal migration for work, youth unemployment, flood and irrigation concerns, and demand for better rural roads and health services dominate public conversations.

• BJP: Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary is contesting from Tarapur for the first time. The BJP enters the race backed by alliance partners JD(U), LJP (Ram Vilas), HAM, and RLM. His father, Shakuni Choudhary, won Tarapur twice, first as Independent (1985) and later as a Congress candidate (1990).

• RJD: Arun Kumar is banking on consolidated Mahagathbandhan support.

• JSP (Prashant Kishor's outfit): Santosh Kumar Singh is trying to pry open both NDA and Mahagathbandhan vote banks.

Bihar will see an electoral contest between the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan. NDA includes the BJP, JD(U), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha.

Mahagathbandhan includes RJD, Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), and Mukesh Sahani's Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP).

Additionally, Kishor's Jan Suraaj has staked claims to all 243 seats in the state. The assembly elections are scheduled to be held on Nov. 6 and 11, respectively, while the results will be declared on Nov. 14.