Patna: Voting began on Thursday morning for 121 assembly seats in Bihar under tight security arrangements, according to election officials. Polling started at 7 a.m. and will continue until 5 p.m.
In this first phase, around 3.75 crore voters will decide the fate of 1,314 candidates.
Prominent names in the fray include Tejashwi Yadav, the INDIA bloc’s chief ministerial candidate, and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary from the BJP.Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to vote in large numbers, calling it a “celebration of democracy.”
He also congratulated first-time voters, saying, “Remember: first vote, then refreshments.” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh echoed the appeal, encouraging people to exercise their right to vote.
Tejashwi Yadav, contesting from Raghopur, asked voters to participate for the sake of democracy and the Constitution. He faces BJP’s Satish Kumar, who had earlier defeated Yadav’s mother, Rabri Devi, in 2010. Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary is contesting from Tarapur after nearly a decade, facing RJD’s Arun Kumar Sah.
Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha is contesting from Lakhisarai, aiming for a fourth consecutive win against Congress’s Amresh Kumar and Jan Suraaj Party’s Suraj Kumar.
BJP minister Mangal Pandey is contesting his first assembly election from Siwan, facing RJD’s Awadh Bihari Chaudhary, a senior leader and former Speaker. Nearby, in Raghunathpur, Osama Shahab, son of late MP Mohd Shahabuddin, is contesting, drawing attention because of his father’s controversial past.
In Mokama, JD(U)’s Anant Singh, currently in jail, is contesting against RJD’s Veena Devi. In Mahua, Tej Pratap Yadav, elder brother of Tejashwi, is contesting under his new party Janshakti Janata Dal, facing candidates from RJD, LJP (Ram Vilas), and Independents.
Other notable candidates include folk singer Maithili Thakur (BJP–Aliganj), Bhojpuri actor Khesari Lal Yadav (RJD–Chhapra), and actor Ritesh Pandey (Jan Suraaj Party–Kargahar).
About a dozen ministers, mostly from the BJP, are contesting to retain their seats, including Nitin Nabin (Bankipur), Sanjay Saraogi (Darbhanga), Jibesh Kumar (Jale), and Kedar Prasad Gupta (Kurhani). JD(U) ministers Shrawan Kumar (Nalanda) and Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (Sarairanjan) are also in the fray.
Voting is taking place at 45,341 polling stations, of which 36,733 are in rural areas.
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