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With Bihar clocking a record voter turnout of 64.66% in the first phase of the Bihar elections, all eyes turn to the second phase to be held on November 11. Of the 122 seats in the poll fray, several crucial seats are from the regions of Magadh, Champaran and Seemanchal (widely known as a decider for every state election). The results of the two-phase election will be announced on November 14. In the first phase, dynasts and incumbent Ministers fought for the people’s mandate while in the second phase, smaller parties pose a bigger threat to the Opposition bloc – RJD-Congress-Left. Tough fights will be seen in Sitamarhi, Jehanabad, Belaganj – where JDU and RJD are going head on, in Kutumba and Imamganj where HAMS is in the poll fray and Seemanchal’s Araria, Kishanganj and Purnia – where AIMIM is seeking to corner the Muslim votes. Here are the key fights in this phase - Sitamarhi: Sunil Kumar Kushwaha (RJD) Vs Sunil Kumar Pintu (BJP) A key swing seat in the Sitamarhi district will witness a tough fight between BJP’s ex-MLA Sunil Kumar Pintu and RJD’s Sunil Kumar Kushwaha. Mr. Pintu, who has won the seat thrice, was defeated by Mr. Kushwaha in 2015. With a history of swinging between RJD and BJP, Sitamarhi’s incumbent MLA Mithilesh Kumar has been dropped by BJP and roped in Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead the campaign. Seeking to retain the seat in this election, BJP has promised to build a grand temple in the scale of the Ayodhya shrine, to Goddess Sita. Jehanabad: Chandreshwar Prasad (JDU) vs Rahul Kumar (RJD) Vs Pramod Yadav (RLJP) A three-corner fight will be witnessed in Jehanabad – a Muslim-Yadav dominated area, between RJD’s Rahul Kumar, JDU’s Chandreshwar Prasad and Pashupati Nath Paras’ Rashtriya Lok Janashakti Party’s (RLJP) Pramod Yadav. A stronghold for RJD – which has held the seat since 1995 (except 2010-2015) will be a tough terrain for ex-MP Chandradeshwar Prasad who once lost the Jehanabad Lok Sabha seat for JDU. Meanwhile, scoring the Paswan vote in the region might be tricky for RJD as Mr. Paras exited the Mahagathbandhan and fielded his own candidate in this seat. New entrant JSP has fielded Abhiram Singh for Jehanabad. Belaganj: Manorama Devi (JDU) Vs Vishwanath Kumar Singh (RJD) A rematch of the 2024 by-elections is set to happen in Gaya’s Belaganj constituency as JD(U)’s incumbent MLA Manorama Devi faces RJD’s Vishwanath Kumar Singh. In 2024, the seat fell vacant as eight-time MLA Surendra Prasad Yadav was elected to the Lok Sabha from Jehanabad. His son, Mr. Vishwanath was defeated by Ms. Manorama – wife of late gangster Bindeshwari Prasad Yadav, who was feared in that area. With a sizable Yadav population, Belaganj’s battle will decide the fate of the Gaya region in this election. JSP has fielded Md. Shahabuddin for this seat. Kutumba: Rajesh Kumar (Congress) Vs Lalan Ram (HAMS) Falling under Aurangabad region, this seat reserved for Scheduled Castes will see a fight between the smaller coalition partners – Congress and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular). Incumbent Congress MLA Rajesh Kumar will face ex-JDU MLA Lalan Ram, who is now with Jitan Ram Manjhi’s, HAMS. Being the Congress’ state chief, this election is crucial for Mr. Kumar as he is seen as a probable Deputy CM pick in a Mahagathbandhan government. His opponent – Lalan Ram, who lost the 2020 polls to Mr. Kumar as an independent, faces an uphill task, as Chandrashekhar Azad’s Aazad Samaj Party has fielded Ram Janam Ram in a bid to woo the SC/Dalit votes. Imamganj: Ritu Priya Chaudhary (RJD) Vs Deepa Kumari Manjhi (HAMS) Dynasty and working professionals will clash for Mr. Manjhi’s turf – Imamganj. With his daughter-in-law Deepa Kumari in the fray, RJD and JSP have fielded new faces – Ritu Priya Chaudhary, an architect by profession and Dr. Ajeet Kumar, a doctor, respectively. An NDA stronghold, Imamganj has remained with the JDU and later HAMS since 1990 when Uday Narayan Chaudhary first wrested it from Congress’ Srichand Singh. Ms Manjhi’s poll fight was close in the bypolls in November last year after JSP’s Jitendra Paswan polled 20% of the votes, handing Ms. Manjhi only a slender victory by less than 6000 votes. Araria: Abidur Rahman (Congress) Vs Shagufta Azim (JDU) Vs Md. Manzoor Alam (AIMIM) Situated in the Seemanchal region, Araria battles poverty, migration and floods in this election. With a sizable Muslim population, all major candidates of NDA, Mahagathbandhan, JSP and AIMIM belong to that community. While NDA has stoked concerns of ‘illegal migration’ in Araria, Mr. Owaisi’s decision to field candidates in 15 seats in Seemanchal will impact the Mahagathbandhan’s chances here. Incumbent Congress MLA Abidur Rahman seeks a third term from Araria and is challenged by JDU’s Shagufta Azim. JSP has fielded Farhat Ara Begum while AIMIM has trusted Md. Manzoor Alam to win Araria. Kishanganj: Md. Qamrul Hoda (Congress) Vs Sweety Singh (BJP) Another Seemanchal seat, Kishanganj is a Mahagathbandhan stronghold with BJP never have managed to win it. As a Muslim-dominated seat, Kishanganj has always had a Muslim MLA with Congress’ Ijaharul Hussain winning it in 2020. Sweety Singh, who has lost the seat since 2010 came close to beating Mr. Hussain in 2020, who eked out a victory by a margin on 1381 votes. AIMIM’s Qamrul Hoda had played spoilsport polling 41,904 votes, cutting into the Opposition’s vote. With Mr. Hoda now switching to Congress, he will face once again face Ms. Singh, JSP’s Md. Ishaque Alam and AIMIM’s Shams Aghaz. Purnia: Jitendra Kumar (Congress) Vs Vijay Kumar Khemka (BJP) An exception to the Seemanchal trend, Communist-turned-NDA stronghold, Purnia will witness a battle between incumbent BJP MLA Vijay Khemka seeking a third term and Congress’ Jitendra Kumar. Promising an international airport in Purnia, NDA seeks to retain this seat for the eighth time. JSP’s Santosh Kumar Singh is also in the fray. The first phase of polls saw a record 64.66% voting across 121 Assembly constituencies in 18 districts with a total electorate of over 3.75 crore. The figures better the 62.57% turnout of the 2000 Assembly election while the recent Lok Sabha election saw a turnout of 64.6%. Both coalitions - National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Mahagathbandhan have promised government jobs, free power, ration, education, hiked stipends to farmers, workers, fishermen and large infrastructure projects, if voted to power.
