Bihar gears up for first phase of assembly polls tomorrow; Tejashwi Yadav, Samrat Choudhary among leaders in fray

PATNA: All arrangements are in place for the first phase of Bihar polls on Thursday in 121 constituencies with 3.75 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise across 45,341 polling stations.

The first phase of poll will decide the electoral fate of 1,314 candidates. The second phase of assembly polls will be held on November 11 and results will be announced on November 14.

The first phase of polls will decide electoral fate of several senior leaders including RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Mangal Pandey and JD(U)’s Shravan Kumar and Vijay Kumar Choudhary. Tej Pratap Yadav is also in the fray in the first phase.

The 121 constituencies going to the polls in the first phase are spread across 18 districts. According to the Election Commission, there are 10.72 lakh ‘new electors’ and 7.78 lakh voters are in the age group of 18-19 years.

Total population of these constituencies, as stated by the Election Commission, is 6.60 crore.

Presiding officers have handed over Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to polling agents ahead of the polling day.
Central City Patna Superintendent of Police Diksha said all arrangements have been made for smooth and peaceful polling in the city.

“Area domination will be done, and patrolling parties will conduct raids tonight. From morning, there will be checks at the zonal and super zonal levels. Quick Response Teams have been formed. Communication channels have been established. We expect voters to vote peacefully. Women-specific and disability-friendly booths have been set up. CAPF and State Police have been deployed at polling stations. Boats have also been arranged for polling parties.”

Tejashwi Yadav, who is Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial candidate, is in the fray from Raghopur. He has held the seat since 2015 and faces a tough challenge from BJP’s Satish Kumar Yadav, who lost in 2020 assembly elections.

Tejashwi Yadav’s estranged brother, Tej Pratap Yadav, who floated a new party Janshakti Janta Dal after his exit from RJD, has fielded Prem Kumar from the seat. Jan Suraaj Party, led by Prashant Kishor, has fielded Chanchal Singh and this could alter the dynamics in Raghopur.
Tej Pratap Yadav is in the fray from Mahua constituency.

Tarapur seat in Munger district is witnessing a contest between Deputy Chief Minister and BJP’s Samrat Choudhary, RJD’s Arun Kumar and Jan Suraaj’s Santosh Kumar Singh. The seat was won by the JD(U) candidates in the 2010 and 2015 polls.

Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha is contesting from the Lakhisarai seat. He is facing Congress’ Amaresh Kumar and Jan Suraaj’s Suraj Kumar.

Mokama constituency has been in the headlines after the murder of Dularchand Yadav. Known for clashes between strongmen or ‘bahubalis’, Mokama will witness a contest between JD(U) candidate Anant Kumar Singh, who has been arrested in the murder case, and Veena Devi, wife of former MP and influential leader Surajbhan Singh.

Patna Sahib has been a BJP stronghold but Nand Kishore Yadav, the Speaker in the outgoing assembly, is not in the fray this time.

The contest on the seat is between relatively new faces. BJP has fielded Ratnesh Kumar aka Ratnesh Khushwaha and Congress has given ticket to Shashant Shekhar.

In Darbhanga, BJP has fielded folk singer Maithili Thakur and she is contesting against 63-year-old RJD candidate Binod Mishra.
Maithili Thakur,25, is the youngest candidate and would become the youngest MLA if elected.

Polling for the first phase will begin at 7 am and conclude at 6 pm. Due to security considerations, polling time has been curtailed to 5 pm in some constituencies.

There are 122 women candidates in the fray in the first phase of polls.

Jan Suraj Party fielded 119 candidates in this phase. Within NDA, JD(U) is contesting 57 seats, followed by BJP on 48 and LJP (Ram Vilas) on 14.
Among the Mahagathbandhan constituents, RJD is contesting 73 seats in the first phase followed by 24 from Congress and 14 from CPI(ML). There will be friendly fight on a few seats among Mahagathbandhan constituents.

The Election Commission on Tuesday flagged off International Election Visitors’ Programme 2025 and participants will witness polling in the first phase of Bihar polls.

The IEVP is a flagship program of the ECI for international cooperation and engagement with the Election Management Bodies (EMBs) of other countries and International Organizations.

Since 2014, the IEVP has been showcasing the strengths of India’s electoral system to the international community and sharing the best practices adopted in the world’s largest democracy for conduct of elections. (ANI)