Bihar Assembly polls: RJD’s Sasaram candidate arrested after filing nomination

RJD candidate Satendra Sah was arrested immediately after he filed his nomination papers from Bihar’s Sasaram Assembly seat on Monday, October 20, 2025, officials said.

Officers of the concerned police station alleged that Mr. Sah was arrested by the Jharkhand Police as a non-bailable warrant (NBW) was pending against him. His supporters were unaware of the developments.

“When Shah reached the concerned circle officer’s office to file his nomination papers from Sasaram seat, Jharkhand Police officers arrived there to execute an NBW pending against him,” a senior officer from Rohtas district said on condition of anonymity.

“He was allowed to file his nomination papers… But he was arrested soon after. We have no information about the nature of the case filed by NBW against him,” he said, adding that only Jharkhand Police could share more details.

The 243-member Bihar Assembly will go to polls in two phases on November 6 and 11 and the results will be declared on November 14.

This was the third such incident in which INDIA bloc voter candidates were arrested after submitting their nomination papers.

Before this, CPI(ML) Liberation candidates Jitendra Paswan and Satyadeo Ram from Bhore and Darauli seats were arrested after filing their nomination papers.

CPI(ML) Liberation issued a statement condemning the arrests.

“We strongly condemn the politically motivated arrests of Comrade Jitendra Paswan and Comrade Satyadeo Ram… They were arrested just outside the nomination centers immediately after submitting their papers. These arrests under trumped-up and baseless charges clearly reveal the fear and panic among NDA leaders who feel threatened by the rising allegations of the masses and the determination of the people to bring change in Bihar,” the party said.

Unable to confront the growing anger against its failed ‘twin-engine’ government, the BJP-JD(U) alliance has resorted to pressure, intimidation and misuse of police and administrative machinery to silence democratic opposition and suppress the voice of the people, it said.