Bihar is ready for the first phase of Assembly elections after weeks of hectic campaigning. Voters in 121 constituencies will decide the future of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s two-decade rule.

Around 3.75 crore people will choose among 1,314 candidates contesting for these seats. This phase covers half of the 243-member Assembly.

Key Leaders in Contest

Many prominent leaders are in the fray. They include RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, BJP’s Samrat Choudhary and Mangal Pandey, and JD(U)’s Shravan Kumar and Vijay Kumar Choudhary.

Tej Pratap Yadav, who recently formed his own party, is contesting from Mahua.

Districts and Important Seats

Voting will take place in 18 districts. These include Patna, Darbhanga, Madhepura, Saharsa, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Vaishali, Samastipur, Begusarai, Lakhisarai, Munger, Sheikhpura, Nalanda, Buxar, and Bhojpur.

Key constituencies are Raghopur, Begusarai, Khagaria, Mahua, Ujairpur, Patna Sahib, Nalanda, and Buxar. Important candidates include Samrat Choudhary (Tarapur), Tejashwi Yadav (Raghopur), Tej Pratap (Mahua), Maithili Thakur (Alinagar), and Anant Singh (Mokama).

Spotlight on Mokama

The Mokama seat gained attention after Jan Suraaj supporter Dular Chand Yadav was murdered on October 30. Police have booked JD(U) candidate Anant Singh in the case.

Another heavyweight, Veena Devi, wife of strongman Surajbhan Singh, is contesting from Mokama on an RJD ticket.

Star Campaigners Hit the Ground

Top leaders campaigned aggressively in this phase. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief JP Nadda, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma addressed rallies across Bihar.

Prashant Kishor’s Party Makes Debut

The polls mark the debut of Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party. Kishor is promoting his outfit as a third alternative in Bihar politics. His party has fielded candidates in all 243 constituencies.

Young and First-Time Voters

The Election Commission said 10.72 lakh voters are new electors. Another 7.78 lakh are aged 18 to 19 years.

Security Tightened Across State

Patna SP Diksha said police have made full security arrangements. “Patrolling parties will conduct raids. From morning, there will be checks at zonal and super zonal levels, with quick response teams,” she said. CAPF and State Police will guard polling stations.

Polling Schedule

Voting will begin at 7 am and end at 6 pm. In some sensitive constituencies, polling will close at 5 pm for security reasons.