Phase one of the Bihar Assembly elections opens on Thursday with 3.75 crore electors set to determine the prospects of 1,314 candidates across 121 constituencies, including several high-profile political figures.
Tejashwi Yadav, the INDIA bloc’s chief ministerial face, seeks a third consecutive win from Raghopur, where BJP’s Satish Kumar, who defeated Rabri Devi in 2010, remains his principal challenger. The contest had drawn wider attention after Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor hinted at taking on Yadav on his home turf, before withdrawing and fielding Chanchal Singh instead.
In neighbouring Mahua, Tej Pratap Yadav is fighting a multi-cornered battle after floating his own Janshakti Janata Dal. He is attempting to unseat sitting RJD MLA Mukesh Raushan, although LJP (Ram Vilas) nominee Sanjay Singh and Independent Ashma Parveen, a strong contender in 2020, complicate the field.
Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha are among several ministers whose fortunes will be settled in this round. Sinha, eyeing a fourth successive term in Lakhisarai, faces Congress candidate Amresh Kumar and Jan Suraaj Party nominee Suraj Kumar.
Choudhary, contesting a direct election after nearly a decade, is testing his political stock in Tarapur. He confronts RJD’s Arun Kumar Sah, who lost by fewer than 5,000 votes in 2020.
Mangal Pandey, another former state BJP chief and long-time MLC, is contesting his first assembly election from Siwan. His opponent is RJD veteran Awadh Bihari Chaudhary, a former Speaker and multiple-term MLA.
Raghunathpur has emerged as one of the most closely watched seats due to the candidature of Osama Shahab, son of the late Shahabuddin. His presence has been seized upon by NDA leaders, who have invoked his father’s legacy and even drawn comparisons with Osama bin Laden.
Other high-profile entrants include folk singer Maithili Thakur (BJP, Aliganj) and Bhojpuri stars Khesari Lal Yadav (RJD, Chhapra) and Ritesh Pandey (Jan Suraaj Party, Kargahar).
Also read: Curtain down on public campaigning; Bihar poll on Nov 6
A dozen ministers, mostly from the BJP, are in the fray, including Nitin Nabin (Bankipur), Sanjay Saraogi (Darbhanga), Jibesh Kumar (Jale) and Kedar Prasad Gupta (Kurhani). JD(U) ministers whose fates will be determined include Shrawan Kumar (Nalanda) and Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (Sarairanjan).
In Mokama, JD(U) strongman Anant Singh, currently in jail over the killing of a Jan Suraaj Party supporter, is in a direct contest with RJD’s Veena Devi, wife of Suraj Bhan.
According to the Election Commission, Digha constituency in Patna has the highest number of electors at 4.58 lakh, while Barbigha in Sheikhpura has the lowest at 2.32 lakh. Kurhani and Muzaffarpur each have 20 candidates, the highest in this phase, whereas Bhorey, Alauli and Parbatta have the minimum of five.
Of 45,341 polling stations, 36,733 are in rural areas. The Commission said 10.72 lakh electors are newly registered, while 7.38 lakh are aged 18-19. The population of these constituencies stands at 6.60 crore, indicating that nearly three crore residents are not on the electoral roll due to age or other reasons.
The polls follow the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, which has placed the total number of voters in Bihar at 7.24 crore, about 60 lakh fewer than the previous list.
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