PATNA: The stage is about for the primary section of Lok Sabha polls in Bihar the place greater than 75 lakh voters will determine the destiny of 38 candidates standing in 4 constituencies. Tight safety preparations are in place at Nawada and Aurangabad, in addition to reserved seats of Gaya and Jamui, the place a majority of almost 5,000 polling cubicles have been marked as (*4*), given these districts’ lengthy historical past of naxal violence.
Of the 4 seats, Nawada has the best variety of 20.06 lakh voters, the place altogether eight candidates are within the fray although the competition is primarily between Vivek Thakur, a BJP Rajya Sabha MP searching for entry into the Lok Sabha, and RJD’s Shravan Kushwaha. The pitch has, nevertheless, been queered by Independent candidate Binod Yadav, who resigned from the RJD after Kushwaha was fielded from the seat.
Yadav is the youthful brother of Raj Vallabh Yadav, a former MLA whose spouse Vibha Devi is a sitting MLA and who wields appreciable affect and muscle energy within the space. Gaya has the bottom variety of 18.18 voters, however the highest variety of 14 candidates. Here, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, an NDA ally, who’s just some months shy of turning 80, is making one more bid to enter Parliament.
The principal challenger of Manjhi, who heads Hindustani Awam (*38*), is RJD’s Kumar Sarvajeet, a former minister and sitting MLA from Bodh Gaya seat, whose late father was the Gaya MP within the Nineties. The lowest variety of seven candidates are within the fray in Jamui, the place their fates might be determined by 19.07 lakh voters.
The foremost contest, although, is between two debutantes. One of them is (*75*) Bharti, who has been fielded by the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). The occasion’s president Chirag Paswan, whose sister is married to Bharti, has shifted base to Hajipur after having represented the seat for 2 consecutive phrases.
Bharti’s foremost challenger is Archana Ravidas of RJD, a grassroot-level political employee, who hopes to money in on her picture as a “local”, versus Bharti who hails from an influential political household however has no roots in Jamui. In Aurangabad, over 18 lakh voters will determine the fates of 9 candidates, together with sitting BJP MP Sushil Kumar Singh, who’s aiming at a fourth consecutive time period.
His principal rival is RJD’s Abhay Kushwaha, who stop Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), an NDA ally, final month, and instantly acquired the RJD ticket from occasion president Lalu Prasad. Aurangabad has the best variety of 1,701 delicate cubicles, adopted by Jamui (1,659), Gaya (995) and Nawada (666). Voting will happen until 4 P.M. At these cubicles whereas at different polling stations, it will likely be over two hours later.
According to the Election Commission, greater than 150 corporations of paramilitary forces might be helping the native police within the poll-bound districts the place 76.01 lakh voters, together with 36.38 lakh females and 255 belonging to the third gender, are anticipated to forged their votes. Special preparations have been made for 65,811 voters who’re greater than 85 years of age. More than one-fifth of the overall voters (16.06 lakh) are within the age group of 20 to 29 years whereas 92,602 are aged between 18 and 19 years.
