Bihar election: 71 seats go to polls in first phase on Oct 28

Election Commission has issued guidelines for the votings of Bihar Assembly poll which will take place in the midst of the raging COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 2.14 crore voters who will exercise their franchise, 1.01 crore are women and 599 belong to the third gender, according to data provided by the Election Commission.

Patna: More than two crore voters in Bihar will decide the fate of 1,066 candidates on Wednesday across 71 assembly segments spread across 16 districts in the first phase of elections.

The fate of eight ministers along with nine prominent leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will be sealed in the first phase of polling. Most of the seats are witnessing a triangular contest.

PRESTIGE OF HEAVYWEIGHTS AT STAKE

The political prestige of many heavyweights is at stake in the first phase of the polls. Former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and eight JDU-BJP ministers are in the fray. The JDU ministers are caught in triangular contests, while the BJP ministers are getting direct fight from the opposition candidates.

TRIANGULAR FIGHT

The most interesting fight is taking place in the Dinara Assembly seat where Science and Technology Minister Jai Kumar Singh is seeking re-election against Rajendra Singh, BJP rebel and LJP candidate, and Vijay Mandal of the Rashtriya Janata Dal. Mandal and Singh have made the contest three-cornered for Jai Kumar.

From Jahanabad seat, Education Minister Krishna Nandan Verma is in the fray. RJD has fielded Suday Yadav, son of veteran socialist and former minister Mundrika Singh Yadav, who died recently. Suday had won the by-poll on the RJD ticket. LJP has fielded Indu Devi Kashyap.

From the Jamalpur Rural seat, Rural Development Minister Shailesh Kumar is seeking re-election against Ajay Kumar Singh of the Congress party. LJP has fielded Durgesh Kumar Singh.

Transport Minister Santosh Nirala is trying his luck from Rajpur. The Congress party has fielded Vishwanath Ram against him, while Sanjay Ram from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Nirbhay Kumar Nirala from the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) are in the fray. A multi-cornered contest is being witnessed in the Assembly seat.

Mining Minister Brajkishore Bind is contesting from the Chainpur Assembly seat. The Congress party has fielded Prakash Singh against Bind, while Mohammad Jama Khan is in the fray on the ticket of Bahujan Samaj Party. The political prestige of former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi is at stake in Imamganj. He is pitted against former Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary, who has contested the poll on the RJD ticket. Shobha Devi is contesting on the LJP ticket. Even in this constituency, the political fight is triangular.

HEAVYWEIGHTS IN FIRST PHASE OF POLLING

• Dinara: Jai Kumar Singh (JDU), Rajendra Singh (LJP), Vijay Mandal (RJD)
• Jahanabad: Krishna Nandan Verma (JDU), Suday Yadav (RJD), Indu Devi Kashyap (LJP)
• Jamalpur: Shailesh Kumar (JDU), Ajay Kumar Singh (Congress), Durgesh Kumar Singh (LJP)
• Rajpur: Santosh Nirala (JDU), Vishwanath Ram (Congress), Sanjay Ram (BSP), Nirbhay Kumar Nirala (LJP)
• Chainpur: Brajkishore Bind (BJP), Prakash Singh (Congress), Mohammad Jama Khan (BSP)
• Imamganj: Jitan Ram Manjhi (HUM), Uday Narayan Chaudhary (RJD), Shobha Devi (LJP)

BIGWIGS CAUGHT IN DIRECT FIGHT

Senior BJP leader and Agriculture Minister Prem Kumar is contesting from Gaya Town. Kumar has won the elections seven times in a row from this seat and is in the fray for the eighth time. Kumar is in direct contest with Congress party candidate Mohan Shrivastava. Revenue Minister Ramnarayan Mandal is in the fray from Banka. Dr Javed Iqbal is in the fray on the RJD ticket against Mandal. There is a direct fight between Mandan and Dr Iqbal in Banka. Labor Resource Minister Vijay Sinha is contesting from Lakhisarai. The Congress party has reposed its faith in Amresh Kumar Anish against Minister Vijay Sinha. Even here the contest is three-cornered.

TITANS IN FIRST PHASE FIGHT

• Gaya Town: Prem Kumar (BJP), Mohan Srivastava (Congress)
• Banka: Ramnarayan Mandal (BJP), Javed Iqbal Ansari (RJD)
• Lakhisarai: Vijay Kumar Sinha (BJP), Amresh Kumar Anish (Congress)

In view of the triangular contest, the NDA leaders are claiming victory, while RJD spokesperson Chitaranjan Gagan said that three-fourth of the seats will go to the Grand Alliance and they will get full support of the public. HAM national spokesperson Danish Rizwan said that thanks to the works of development carried out by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, people will once again vote for the NDA's victory. The BJP ministers are in direct fight.