In Bihar, polling will be held tomorrow for the second and final phase of the Assembly elections in 122 constituencies spread across 20 districts. All arrangements have been put in place by the Election Commission of India to ensure free, fair, and peaceful polling. In this phase, voting will take place in constituencies located along the Indo-Nepal border and in the regions of Seemanchal, Magadh, Shahabad, Kosi, and Mithilanchal. Polling will be held in the districts of East and West Champaran, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Supaul, Araria, Kishanganj, Purnea, and Katihar, as well as in Bhagalpur and Banka. Voting will also take place in Gaya, Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Arwal, Jamui, Nawada, Rohtas, and Kaimur districts. Director General of Police Vinay Kumar said that, from a security point of view, the borders adjoining Nepal and the inter-state borders with Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Jharkhand have been sealed, and regular patrolling is being carried out.
Meanwhile, the operation of the Maitri Express train service on the Indo-Nepal border between Jainagar in Madhubani district and Janakpur in Nepal has been suspended till the completion of polling. Voting will begin at 7:00 a.m. and continue till 6:00 p.m. However, due to security reasons, polling in seven assembly constituencies – Chainpur, Govindpur, Rajauli, Jamui, Sikandra, Chakai, and Jhajha – will be held from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. only. In addition, in certain polling stations of Gaya, Aurangabad, Banka, and Rohtas districts, polling will also conclude at 5:00 p.m. The number of such polling stations is 1,202.
For the smooth conduct of polling, more than 45,000 polling stations have been set up. Webcasting arrangements have been made from all polling stations to ensure continuous monitoring of the poll process. The Election Commission has established a state-of-the-art Control and Command Centre at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Patna to oversee the entire election process. Similarly, control rooms have also been set up in all 20 district headquarters. To promote women’s empowerment, 595 polling stations will be managed entirely by women polling staff, while 21 PwD polling booths will be operated by differently-abled personnel. Additionally, 316 model polling stations have been established. In the second and final phase of the Assembly elections, over 3.7 crore voters will decide the fate of 1,302 candidates, including 136 women. In most constituencies, there is a direct contest between the NDA and Mahagathbandhan candidates.
“In the second phase, from the NDA side, de BJP has fielded 53 candidates, followed by 44 of JD(U), and LJP ( R) is contesting on 15 seats. Hindustani Awam Morcha has given tickets to six candidates, whereas Rashtriya Lok Morcha is contesting on four seats. In Mahagathbandhan, the RJD has put the highest number of candidates with a tally of 71 nominees, followed by thirty-seven candidates by Congress. The Vikas Sheel Insaan Party, led by Mukesh Sahani, is contesting on 8 seats, and CPI-ML is fighting on 06 seats. Four seats are contested by CPI and one by CPM. In six assembly constituencies, there is a friendly fight in constituent parties of Mahagathbandhan as RJD, Congress, VIP and CPI have fielded candidates against each other. In this phase, the fate of 12 cabinet ministers of the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led government will be decided. Veteran JD(U) leader and State Power Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav is contesting from the Supaul constituency. BJP candidate and seven-time MLA and cabinet minister DDrPrem Kumar is contesting from Gathe ya Town assembly segment.
State Industries Minister Nitish Mishra is in the fray from the Jhanjharpur assembly seat as a BJP nominee. Former Deputy Chief Minister and Cabinet Minister Renu Devi is contesting as a BJP candidate from Bettiah. JD(U) leader and Minister Leshi Singh is contesting from Dhamdaha constituency. Congress State President Rajesh Kumar is contesting from Kutumba in Aurangabad, while LJP (Ram Vilas) State President Raju Tiwari is trying his luck from Govindganj in East Champaran district.
“Voting for the nine Assembly Constituencies under West Champaran District will be held tomorrow. These Constituencies are Betiah, Valmikinagar, and Nautan Chanpatia. Narkatiaganj, Ramnagar, Bagaha, Lauriya and Sikta.From NDA, BJP is contesting on seven seats while JD(U) is fighting on two seats. From the Mahagathbandhan side, Congress has fielded its candidates on six seats, RJD on two seats, while Vikassheel Insaan Party and CPI(ML) are contesting on one seat each. A total of 72 candidates are in the fray from these nine Assembly segments. From Bettiah seat, sitting BJP MLA and State Minister Renu Devi is trying her luck for the sixth time, from where Congress has nominated Wasi Ahmad, and Jan Suraj Party has fielded Anil Kumar Singh. BJP has fielded three-time MLA and former State Minister Vinay Bihari from the Lauriya seat, against whom the Vikassheel Insaan Party has given a ticket to Ran Kaushal Pratap Singh. On the Narkatiaganj Assembly seat, there is a friendly fight between Congress’s Shaswat Kedar and RJD’s Dipak Yadav, against whom the BJP has fielded Sanjay Kumar Pandey. Polling for all these Constituencies will be held from 7 AM to 6 PM.
All five assembly constituencies of Nawada district will go to the polls tomorrow. The constituencies include Hisua, Nawada, Gobindpur, Rajauli and Warisaliganj. A total of 55 candidates are contesting in the Nawada district. The voting time in Nawada, Hisua and Warisaliganj assembly constituencies is from 7 AM to 6 PM, while in Rajauli and Govindpur, voting will take place till 5 PM due to security reasons. Out of five Assembly seats, BJP and LJP (Ramvilas) are contesting on two seats each and JD(U) on one seat. From the Mahagathbandhan side, RJD is fighting on four seats and Congress on one. In the Key constituency, like Nawada, the JDU has nominated the sitting MLA Vibha Devi, while the RJD has chosen Kaushal Yadav, and the Jan Suraj Party has fielded Anuj Singh. While in Hisua seat, the BJP has nominated Anil Singh, against whom Congress has fielded Nitu Kumari. The Election authorities have completed all necessary arrangements to ensure smooth and peaceful polling throughout the district.
