Patna, Sept. 13: Heavyweights of both the coalitions - the BJP-led NDA and the JDU, RJD and Congress mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) - are unlikely to contest elections this time in an apparent bid to give more time to campaign for their respective candidates.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar, who has not contested elections since 2004, would not contest elections this time too. The last time Nitish contested polls were the Lok Sabha elections from Nalanda in 2004.

JDU spokesperson Ajay Alok said: "The chief minister is not going to contest elections as he has to look after all 243 constituencies. Nitish is candidate for not one constituency but he would represent the grand alliance in all 243 constituencies." Nitish, represented the Assembly only once in 1985 from Harnaut (Nalanda district) on a Lok Dal ticket. Before 1985, he had unsuccessfully contested in 1977 and 1980 on Janata Party tickets.

In 1989, Nitish jumped into national politics and was elected from the Barh parliament constituency, which he kept representing till 2004. He was elected to Parliament from the same seat in 1991, 1995, 1998 and 1999. In the 2004 general election, Nitish contested from both Barh and Nalanda, but lost the Barh seat to RJD's Vijay Krishna. However, since the 2005 Assembly elections, Nitish has not contested any election but has entered the Assembly through the Upper House (becoming MLC).

Same is the case with Nitish's friend-turned-foe and Bihar BJP's poster boy, Sushil Kumar Modi. He too has not contested any elections since 2005. Modi, who too is a product of the JP Movement, had contested the Assembly election for the first time from Patna Central Assembly constituency in 1990. Modi had represented the seat thrice in the 1995 and 2000 elections too.

However, in the 2004 general election, the BJP high command asked Modi to join national politics, contesting the elections from Bhagalpur. Modi contested the election and even won the seat but in 2005, when the NDA government led by Nitish Kumar was formed in Bihar, he again entered state politics becoming the deputy chief minister.

A senior BJP leader, preferring anonymity, said: "As Modi is the state BJP's tallest leader, he doesn't want to confine himself to one seat but has to campaign in all 243 seats."

The case with RJD chief Lalu Prasad is different than Nitish and Sushil. Lalu, who has been convicted in the fodder scam and debarred from contesting elections, has been forced to keep out of the poll fray.

Lalu, senior among both Nitish and Sushil, got elected to Lok Sabha at the age of 29 in 1977 from the Chhapra Lok Sabha seat. From 1980 to 1989, he preferred to dabble in state politics, becoming an MLA. In 1989, he again got elected from Chhapra but in 1990, when he became chief minister, he resigned from the Lok Sabha and was thus elected from Legislative Council. However, when he became chief minister for the second time in 1995, he entered the Assembly from the Lower House representing Raghopur constituency.

Apart from Lalu, Nitish and Sushil, there are many other leaders such as former chief minister Rabri Devi, LJP chief and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan and state Congress president Ashok Choudhary, who are unlikely to contest the elections.