Bihar Elections 2025: Know Your Candidate From Rajpur – Santosh Kumar Nirala (JDU)

The 2025 Bihar Assembly Election is just around the corner, with the state standing at a critical juncture. Will it be the end of the Nitish Kumar era? Will new players emerge? Who will play the role of a kingmaker?

In this series, we cut through the noise of campaign rallies to examine the facts. By delving into the official affidavits submitted to the Election Commission, we provide a data-driven profile of the key contenders.

We will analyse declared assets and liabilities of each candidate, their sources of income, their educational backgrounds, and their self-declared professional histories to give you a clear, factual picture of who you are voting for.

We continue with a key figure from the Janata Dal (United), Santosh Kumar Nirala.

A former minister, Nirala is vying to reclaim the Rajpur constituency. As he contests from his stronghold of Rajpur, we analyse the official data he has submitted for the 2025 election.

Santosh Kumar Nirala, 51, is a senior politician from the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) contesting from the Rajpur (SC) constituency in the Buxar district.

Son of Shri Ram Lal Ram, his affidavit lists his profession as "Politics/Social Work." His wife is registered as a teacher.

Nirala is a two-time MLA from the Rajpur constituency, having won the seat consecutively in 2010 and 2015.

During the Mahagathbandhan government formed in 2015, Nirala served as the Transport Minister of Bihar, holding a significant cabinet portfolio.

In the 2020 Bihar Assembly Elections, however, he was defeated by Vishwanath Ram of the Indian National Congress, losing the seat by a margin of over 21,000 votes.

He is now contesting in 2025 to reclaim his former seat. His declared sources of income include his salary and allowances as a former MLA, agriculture, and bank interest.

As per his 2025 affidavit, Nirala is a "Graduate Professional." His qualifications include:

• Matric: High School, Buxar (1978)

• B.A.: A.N. College, Parsa (1994)

• LLB: J.K.T. Law College, Buxar (2009), under Veer Kunwar Singh University, Arrah

According to his 2025 election affidavit, Santosh Kumar Nirala and his spouse have declared total assets of approximately Rs 3.76 crore and total liabilities of Rs 87.08 lakh.

Nirala's personal movable assets are valued at Rs 1.31 crore while immovable assets are valued at Rs 1.79 crore.

His spouse's movable assets are valued at Rs 39.71 lakh while immovable assets are valued at Rs 26 lakh.

As per his 2025 affidavit, Santosh Kumar Nirala has declared one pending criminal case.

The case (244/2020) is described as a "Violation of Model Code of Conduct". The charges listed fall under IPC Sections 171(E) (bribery) and 171(H) (illegal payment), as well as Section 128 of the Representation of the People Act.

The affidavit explicitly states that charges have not been framed in this matter. He has declared no convictions.