New Delhi: Political activist and former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Sharjeel Imam has announced his withdrawal from the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, citing repeated denial of bail by the courts.
In a statement issued from prison on Thursday, Imam said, “We, my team and I, have decided not to contest the Bihar elections 2025. The main reason for this decision is that my bail was rejected by the Delhi High Court (2 Sep, 2025), and even though we moved to the Supreme Court immediately (9 Sep, 2025), we failed to get interim relief.”
Imam, who was planning to contest from the Bahadurganj constituency in Kishanganj district, said the state had “put hurdles” in his path, making it impossible for him to campaign personally or connect with voters. “I’ll be unable to personally campaign and mingle freely with my constituency,” the statement read.
Earlier, Imam had sought interim bail from a Delhi court for two weeks to contest the elections. With the matter now postponed until late October, he is expected to be out on bail during the time of the election.
Describing himself and his team as “carriers of a new democratic message” rather than traditional politicians, Imam said their political vision centred on structural changes for marginalised communities, ideas he claimed were missing from mainstream Indian politics.
“Our primary responsibility is spreading our message about structural change i.e, decentralisation, proportional representation as a method of election, reservation of minorities across caste groups, religious autonomy, etc. We’ll keep working towards that end. We have to force those who seek our votes to address these fundamental issues,” he said.
Imam also spoke of the “extreme restrictions” he faces as a political prisoner, which limited his communication with the outside world and hampered his campaign. He thanked his team and supporters in Bahadurganj, as well as those across India who expressed solidarity with him.
A native of Kako village in Bihar’s Jehanabad district, Imam has been lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since January 2020, spending over five years in pre-trial detention. While he has secured bail in several cases, he remains in custody in connection with the Delhi riots conspiracy case, in which he is charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for his role in protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).