Patna: Polling began at 7 a.m. today for the second and final phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, covering 122 of the state’s 243 constituencies across 20 districts. Nearly 37 million voters will decide the fate of 1,302 candidates in this phase. Over 400,000 security personnel have been deployed across the Seemanchal and other districts to ensure peaceful voting.
A total of 45,399 polling stations have been set up — 40,073 in rural areas and 5,326 in urban regions. Voting is being held in West Champaran, East Champaran, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Madhubani, Supaul, Araria, Kishanganj, Purnia, Katihar, Bhagalpur, Banka, Jamui, Nawada, Gaya, Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Arwal, Kaimur, and Rohtas.
Several ministers in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s cabinet are contesting in this phase, including Bijendra Prasad Yadav (Supaul), Sumit Kumar Singh (Chakai), Nitish Mishra (Jhanjharpur), Jayant Raj (Amarpur), Neeraj Kumar Singh Bablu (Chatapur), Renu Devi (Bettiah), Leshi Singh (Dhamdaha), Krishnanandan Paswan (Harsidhi), and Jama Khan (Chainpur).
From the Mahagathbandhan, key candidates include former Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary, Bihar Congress President Rajesh Ram, Congress Legislature Party leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan (Kadwa seat, Katihar), and CPI (ML) legislative leader Mahboob Alam.
In this phase, the NDA has 53 BJP candidates, 44 from JD(U), 15 from LJP (Ram Vilas), six from HAM, and four from Rashtriya Lok Morcha in the fray.
In terms of geography, Bhagalpur is the smallest constituency (23.88 sq. km), while Chainpur is the largest (1,814.15 sq. km). The Makhdoompur seat has the fewest voters (247,574), and Hisua has the most (367,667).
DGP Vinay Kumar said extensive security measures are in place across all districts, especially those bordering Nepal, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The Indo-Nepal border was sealed on Saturday, while inter-state borders were closed Sunday evening. A total of 1,650 companies of central security forces are deployed to maintain law and order during the polling process.
Source: Hindustan Samachar
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