Polling for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections commenced at 7 am today, with approximately 3.75 crore voters tasked with determining the fate of 1,314 candidates. Voting will remain open until 6 pm, and in certain constituencies, it will conclude at 5 pm.
Eighteen districts, including Patna, Darbhanga, Madhepura, Saharsa, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Vaishali, Samastipur, Begusarai, Lakhisarai, Munger, Sheikhpura, Nalanda, Buxar, and Bhojpur—many of which are situated south of the Ganges—are participating in this electoral phase.
Key constituencies in this phase include Raghopur, where Tejashwi Yadav is seeking a third consecutive term; Mahua, where Tej Pratap Yadav is a candidate; and Tarapur, the home constituency of Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. Tejashwi Yadav, representing the INDIA alliance, and Samrat Choudhary of the BJP are highlighted as major contenders.
In the previous Assembly elections of 2020, the Mahagathbandhan, led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), claimed an advantage in these areas, winning 63 seats compared to the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) 55 seats.
The campaign for this phase focused on various issues, with the RJD and Congress emphasizing unemployment, law and order, and alleging that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is merely a “puppet of the BJP.” The NDA, on the other hand, leveraged narratives of “jungle raj” to target the RJD.
This election also marks the introduction of Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, contributing a third option in the electoral competition.
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