Bihar Elections 2025: Madhepura constituency — Key dates, candidates and more

With less than ten days to go for the first phase of polling in the Bihar Assembly Election 2025, Madhepura has emerged as one of the key battlegrounds to watch. The constituency, located within the Madhepura Lok Sabha seat, has long been a political powerhouse—once represented by heavyweights like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Sharad Yadav.

Historically, who has had a stronghold in Madhepura?

Madhepura has remained a bastion of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for over a decade. The party’s dominance here has been built around the influence of its sitting MLA, Prof. Chandra Shekhar, a three-time legislator who first won the seat in 2010.

Key Candidates

Candidate profiles

Prof Chandra Shekhar

Prof Chandra Shekhar is the current MLA from Madhepura. A three-time MLA, for the 2025 Bihar elections, Chandra Shekhar is once again contesting on an RJD ticket as part of the Mahagathbandhan. Known for his sharp political instincts and occasional controversies. Before becoming the MLA, he served as Bihar’s Minister of Disaster Management (2015–2017) and Minister of Sugarcane Industries (2022–2024).

He drew attention in 2023 after his remarks on Ram Charit Manas during a Hindi Diwas event sparked debate across the state. In January 2023, he claimed that Ram Charit Manas "spread hatred in society" because it contains verses that allegedly propagate discrimination against lower castes and women. The JD(U), then an RJD ally, distanced itself from his comments, while the RJD backed him, calling it a reflection of party ideology.

In 2010, he defeated JD(U)’s Ramendra Kumar Yadav by a margin of 11,944 votes, polling 72,481 and securing 47.29 per cent of the total vote share. His dominance strengthened in 2015 when he won by 37,642 votes against BJP’s Vijay Kumar, garnering 90,974 votes. In the 2020 assembly polls, he completed a hat-trick, defeating JD(U)’s Nikhil Mandal by 16,046 votes (81,116 vs 65,070).

Kavita Kumari Saha

Chandra Shekhar's main challenger this time is Kavita Kumari Saha of the JD(U), representing the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Saha, who hails from the Extremely Backward Class (EBC) community and holds a postgraduate degree in Sociology, has earlier served as the Chairperson of the Madhepura Municipal Board, gaining local administrative experience and grassroots visibility.

Shashi Kumar Yadav

Adding a third dimension to the contest is Shashi Kumar Yadav from Jan Suraaj, the political movement led by strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor.

Party alliances and election schedule

The 2025 Bihar elections are set to see a straight fight between two major blocs — the NDA, comprising the BJP, JD(U), LJP (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha; and the Mahagathbandhan, led by RJD with allies Congress, CPI(ML), CPI, CPM, and the Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP).

Meanwhile, Jan Suraaj has announced candidates for all 243 assembly constituencies, aiming to disrupt traditional equations.

Madhepura election dates

Polling in Madhepura will be held on November 6, 2025, in phase one, and results will be declared on November 14, 2025.