The counting for 243 assembly seats that went to polls across three phases has begun. The Election Commission has set up a total of 55 counting centres, housing 414 halls, spread across 38 districts in Bihar.
The poll panel has made face masks mandatory for entering into the counting centres besides sanitizers will be kept in adequate quantity there.
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) have been imposed in and around the counting centres to prevent the gathering of people.
In the state capital Patna, votes for all the 14 assembly constituencies will be counted at just one centre set up at A.N. College.
Various exit polls have pointed out at Tejashwi Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal getting a clear majority in the 243-member legislative assembly. To form a government in the state, a party needs to get at least 122 seats in the election. More than 3000 candidates contested for 243 assembly seats.
The fight is between NDA, which consists of the BJP – JD(U), and Mahagathbandhan, which is made up of RJD, Congress, and Left parties.
Important candidates in high stakes election
Tejashwi Yadav – Former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and son of Lalu Yadav is contesting from the Raghopur seat. The seat is considered an RJD stronghold. He is the CM candidate for the grand alliance. BJP has fielded Satish Kumar, who defeated Rabri Devi in 2010 by more than 5000 votes.
Tej Pratap Yadav – He the eldest son of former Chief Minister Lalu Yadav. He is trying his luck from Hasanpur in Samastipur district, shifting his base from Mahua in Vaishali. His opponent is two-time JD(U) MLA Raj Kumar Rai and LJP has fielded Manish Kumar to make it a triangular contest.
Nand Kishore Yadav – He is the Road Construction Minister in the Bihar cabinet. He is contesting from the Patna Sahib constituency for the seventh consecutive time. He has been fielded by the BJP. In 2015, he had won by 2,792 votes against his nearest rival, Santosh Mehta of RJD.
Mandakini Chaudhary – She holds an MBA degree, and is contesting from Harlakhi Vidhan sabha in Madhubani district as an independent. Mandakini declined multiple lucrative job offers and took a political plunge with a vow to bring a change in the lives of the poor. After obtaining a graduation degree from Patna Women’s College in 2007, Mandakini joined the ICFAI Business School, Kolkata to get a management degree in Finance and Marketing. In 2013, she completed her Executive MBA in Rural Management from IIBM.
Key Assembly seats
Bankipur seat:
This seat is going to witness the most intense battle of this phase. Congress has fielded actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha’s son Luv. Opposing him will be sitting BJP MLA Nitin Navin. He has served this constituency for two consecutive terms. Interestingly, the founder of Plural’s party, Pushpam Priya is also fighting for this seat.
Raghopur seat:
This constituency is considered an RJD stronghold with a sizeable number of Yadav voters. Chief Ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav is seeking re-election from this seat. BJP has fielded Satish Kumar, who defeated Rabri Devi in 2010 by more than 5000 votes.
Nalanda seat:
Nalanda district has always welcomed its son Nitish Kumar with open arms. It has been an impregnable fortress for JD(U) which has fielded Shravan Kumar from this seat. He also holds charge of Rural Development and Parliamentary Affairs ministry.
State youth Congress Gunjan Patel will contest from this seat. Recently, Nitish Kumar faced criticism on his home turf. People in Nalanda chanted anti-JDU slogans at Chief Minister’s rally.
Siwan seat:
Former minister Awadh Bihari Chaudhary is posing a great threat to NDA and the grand alliance by entering as an independent candidate from Siwan. JD(U) has fielded a new face from the constituency denying ticket to Awadh Bihari Chaudhary.
In 2015, BJP candidate Vyas Deo Prasad won the Siwan constituency seat with a margin of 2.2% securing 55156 votes against JD(U) candidate Bablu Prasad.
Chapra seat:
BJP has fielded Dr. CN Gupta at this seat, who is the first non-Yadav, non-Rajput MLA from Chapra. He will contest against RJD’s Randhir Kumar Singh and BSP’s Manoj Kumar. In the 2015 Assembly Elections, Dr. C.N. Gupta won by defeating Randhir Kumar Singh with a margin of 11,379 votes.
Warisnagar – The sitting JD(U) Ashok Kumar is contesting in a triangular battle. LJP has fielded formidable Urmila Sinha wife of Gajendra Singh, former minister. Phool Babu Singh is looking optimistic about his win with RJD’s support.
Sarairanjan – Sitting JD(U) candidate and speaker of the Vidhan Sabha Vijay Kumar Chaudhary is pitted against Arvind Sahni of RJD. In the 2015 Bihar elections, Vijay Kumar Choudhary of the JDU.
Samastipur – Sitting RJD MLA Md Akhtarul Islam Shahin is facing Ashwamedh Devi of JD(U). LJP candidate Mahendra Pradhan is also contesting from this seat. Samastipur has a large chunk of migrant workers that have come back due to the lockdown. Their votes will play a crucial role in the third phase.
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