Bihar Assembly Elections 2020: The counting of votes will be held on November 10. (Representational)
New Delhi:
More than two crore voters in Bihar will decide the fate of 1,066 candidates today across 71 assembly segments in the first phase of elections.
Guidelines have been issued by the Election Commission for safe conduct of the electoral exercise, which takes place in the midst of the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
These include lowering the cap on the maximum number of voters for a polling booth from 1,600 to 1,000, staggering of polling hours and postal ballot facility for those aged above 80, or those afflicted with or suspected to be carrying the contagion.
This election will see Nitish Kumar and his JDU, who are backed by the BJP, fight for a fifth consecutive term. Challenging him will be a mahagathbandan led by the RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav and Congress. Chirag Paswan’s LJP, an ally of the BJP at the centre, is in the mix as an independent party – which led to speculation of a tacit deal with the BJP.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JDU will contest 35 seats in the first phase. The BJP has fielded candidates in 29, with seven seats going to smaller allies. The RJD will fight 42 seats and the Congress 20. Mr Paswan’s LJP will fight only 41 seats but these include the 35 being contested by the JDU. In the 2015 elections the RJD won 27 of 71 seats that polled in the first phase. The JDU won 18, the BJP 13 and the Congress only nine.
The second and third phase of the elections in the state will be held on November 3 and 7. The counting of votes will be held on November 10.
Here are the LIVE Updates on Bihar Elections 2020:
Over 2 crore people in Bihar will today vote to elect their representatives for 71 of the state’s 243 assembly constituencies. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United is contesting in 35 seats, while its ally BJP is contesting in 29. Chirag Paswan’s LJP, which has emerged as Mr Kumar’s biggest rival over the last few months, has fielded candidates in all the 35 seats contested by the JDU.
Tejashwi Yadav’s RJD is contesting in 42 seats, whereas as its ally Congress is trying its luck in 20 constituencies. Strict anti-Covid measures have been put in place by the Election Commission to prevent transmission of the virus during voting. The fate of several high-profile candidates, including six ministers and a former chief minister, will be decided in the first phase of polling.
