Polling commenced on Saturday morning for eight Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar, along with a by-election for the Agiaon assembly seat.
The electoral process began at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm, with 1.6 crore voters eligible to cast their ballots across these constituencies.
The Lok Sabha seats where voting is taking place include Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Arrah, Karakat, Jehanabad, Buxar, and Nalanda.
A senior election official confirmed that voting is underway at 16,634 polling stations, with 3,885 located in urban areas.
The Agiaon assembly seat, a reserved constituency, is also holding a by-election following the disqualification of CPI(ML) MLA Manoj Manzil due to a murder conviction.
The CPI(ML) has fielded Shiv Prakash Ranjan, while the NDA's candidate is Prabhunath Prasad of JD(U).
Several high-profile candidates are in the fray. Union Minister RK Singh is seeking his third term from Arrah, facing a challenge from Sudama Prasad, a sitting CPI(ML) Liberation MLA.
The Arrah Lok Sabha constituency encompasses six assembly segments, including Agiaon.
In Patna Sahib, BJP veteran Ravi Shankar Prasad is vying for a second consecutive term.
His main opponent is Congress spokesperson Anshul Avijit.
Pataliputra is witnessing a keen contest between RJD president Lalu Prasad's eldest daughter Misa Bharti, contesting for the third time, and BJP MP Ram Kripal Yadav, aiming for a hat-trick.
Nalanda, the home district of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, sees sitting MP Kaushlendra Kumar of JD(U) aiming to retain his seat. His principal challenger is Sandeep Saurav, a sitting CPI(ML) MLA.
Karakat presents a multi-cornered fight, featuring Bhojpuri superstar Pawan Singh as an Independent candidate. Upendra Kushwaha, former Union minister and leader of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, hopes to reclaim the seat after rejoining the BJP-led coalition.
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