The NDA announced candidates for 39 Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar, dropping eight sitting MPs. The announcement was made at a joint press conference addressed by NDA constituents of Bihar: BJP, JD(U) and LJP. Only three women, one from each party, made it to the list, while JD(U)'s Mahmood Ashraf is the sole Muslim.

The most prominent names, however, will be of those candidates who were dropped, chief among them suspended Darbhanga's Kirti Azad and Patna Sahib's Shatrughan Sinha. Replacing them will be party functionary Gopalji Thakur and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad respectively.

"I was born and brought up in Patna. I have a special attachment with it. I am thankful to the party for considering me suitable for the seat," Prasad told reporters after the announcement.

Another prominent change is Union minister Giriraj Singh, who changed from Nawada to Begusarai, where he is likely to face former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar. Giriraj had indicated his unhappiness at the Nawada seat going to the LJP while the seat division was underway.

From Nawada, LJP is fielding Chandan Kumar, brother of former underworld don Surajbhan Singh. Meanwhile, more kin of sitting MPs had a day to look forward to. While BJP MP Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav's Madhubani seat will now be contested by his son Ashok Kumar Yadav, Union minister and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan's brother Pashupati Kumar Paras will take the former's Hajipur seat.

All other Union ministers of the BJP from Bihar have retained their seats: Radha Mohan Singh (Purvi Chamaparan), Ram Kripal Yadav (Pataliputra), Raj Kumar Singh (Ara) and Ashwini Choubey (Buxar). State BJP chief Nityanand Rai will also recontest from his Ujairpur seat, as will partymen Sanjay Jaiswan (Pashchim Champaran), Rama Devi (Sheohar), Ajay Nishan (Muzaffarpur), Janardan Singh Sigriwal (Maharajganj), Rajiv Pratap Rudy (Saran), Chhedi Paswan (Sasaram) and Sushil Kumar Singh (Aurangabad).

LJP's Chiraj Paswan and Ram Chandra Paswan are seeking reelection from Jamui and Samastipur respectively, meaning three of the six LJP seats are within the Paswan family. JD(U)'s Santosh Kushwaha and Kaushalendra Kumar are also seeking reelection from Purnia and Nalanda.

Meanwhile, BJP MPs who have been dropped after their seats went to JD(U) are: Satish Chandra Dubey (Valmikinagar), Om Prakash Yadav (Siwan), Hari Manjhi (Gaya), Janak Ram (Gopalganj) and Birendra Kumar Choudhary (Jhanjharpur), while LJP dropped Rama Kishor Singh from Vaishali.

The only seat for which a candidate hasn't been named in Bihar is Khagaria, which is with the LJP. Mahboob Ali Kaiser is the sitting MP from Khagaria.