Daijiworld Media Network - Patna

Patna, Nov 6: Voting began on Thursday morning for the first phase of Bihar Assembly elections across 121 constituencies amid tight security arrangements. Polling commenced at 7 am and will continue till 5 pm, election officials confirmed.

In this crucial phase, around 3.75 crore voters will exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 1,314 candidates, including several high-profile leaders such as INDIA bloc’s chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary of the BJP.

Raghopur, the traditional stronghold of the Yadav family, is witnessing a high-stakes battle. Tejashwi Yadav, eyeing a hat-trick, is being challenged by BJP’s Satish Kumar — who had earlier defeated Rabri Devi in 2010 when he contested on a JD(U) ticket. The seat had drawn attention after Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor expressed his intent to contest from Raghopur but later fielded Chanchal Singh from his party instead.

In neighbouring Mahua, Tejashwi’s elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav, now leading his own outfit — Janshakti Janata Dal — is engaged in a multi-cornered contest. He faces RJD’s sitting MLA Mukesh Raushan, NDA’s Sanjay Singh of LJP (Ram Vilas), and Independent candidate Ashma Parveen, who was the runner-up in 2020.

The first phase also includes several heavyweight candidates, including Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, whose electoral fortunes will be sealed by evening.
The Election Commission has ensured elaborate security and monitoring arrangements to ensure peaceful polling across all constituencies.