Bihar Elections 2025: Jailed activist Sharjeel Imam seeks bail to contest state polls after five years in jail

Jailed activist Sharjeel Imam, currently incarcerated in Delhi’s Tihar Jail in connection with the Delhi riots case, has approached a Delhi court seeking temporary bail to participate in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections. Imam, who has been in jailed for over five years, intends to run as an independent candidate from the Bahadurganj constituency in Kishanganj district.

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The Bihar elections are set to be held in two stages, on November 6 and November 11, with the results to be announced on November 14. Imam has requested bail from October 15 to October 29, as Bahadurganj will vote on November 11. Imam's petition is being heard by Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai, who is overseeing the Delhi riots conspiracy trial at Karkardooma court. The Bahadurganj seat is currently held by Mohammad Anzar Nayeemi, who won in 2020 on an AIMIM ticket but later switched allegiance to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

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Imam, who was arrested in January 2020 for his anti-CAA protests, has spent more than five years in pre-trial detention. His appeal for bail is currently under consideration by the Supreme Court, following the Delhi High Court’s refusal to grant bail in the conspiracy case linked to the February 2020 riots. Imam's lawyers argue that the delays in his trial are not his fault, and his prolonged incarceration is due to systemic issues. This request follows similar attempts by other accused in the Delhi riots case, including Shifa-ur Rehman and Tahir Hussain, who contested elections in Delhi earlier this year under the AIMIM banner.

In the 2020 Bihar state elections, the BJP-JDU alliance narrowly defeated the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan. The BJP-JDU coalition secured 125 seats (with BJP winning 74, JDU 42, and others 9), while the RJD took 75, Congress 19, and other parties claimed 16 seats. Despite JDU being the smaller partner with fewer seats, Nitish Kumar of JDU was appointed as Chief Minister, marking his seventh term in office. However, midway through his tenure, Kumar did what many anticipated—he switched sides and rejoined the Mahagathbandhan in 2022, taking oath as Chief Minister for an eighth term. This time, he played a key role in establishing the INDIA alliance, a new anti-BJP coalition. Yet, in 2024, he once again made a dramatic U-turn, re-aligning with the BJP and taking oath as chief minister for his ninth term.