Bihar elections 2020 LIVE Updates: Phase 1 polling concludes, second phase on November 3

The Bihar polls will get underway when polling for the first phase commences on October 28. The other two phases of the Bihar election are on November 3 and November 7. The Election Commission of India stated that 7 lakh hand sanitizers, 46 lakh masks, 6 lakh PPE kits, 6.7 lakh face shields and 23 lakh pairs of hand gloves have been arranged for the election. To observe the COVID-19 prevention norms, each polling booth will have less than 1000 voters. To decongest polling stations further, the voting time has been increased by one hour.

Thus, people will be able to cast their votes from 7 am to 6 pm barring for the areas affected by Left-wing extremism. COVID-19 patients can vote in the last hour of the day. More than 52,000 voters, who are either senior citizens above 80 years of age, people with disabilities, or suspected/confirmed COVID-19 patients have opted for the postal ballot in the first phase of Bihar elections. To ensure foolproof security for the three-phase polls, about 30,000 Central security force personnel will be deployed. The counting of votes will take place on November 10. 

The 2015 Assembly election result:

The Bihar Assembly has a strength of 243 members out of which 38 seats are reserved for SC and two for ST. In the 2015 state polls, the Mahagatbandhan comprising RJD, JD(U) and Congress won a whopping majority with 178 seats under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. On the other hand, the BJP-led alliance won from only 58 constituencies. On July 26, 2017, Nitish Kumar stepped down as the CM citing irreconcilable differences with RJD over corruption allegations against Tejashwi Yadav and joined hands with its former ally BJP.

Key alliances in the fray:

The Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagatbandhan comprising RJD, Congress, CPI(M-L), CPI, and CPM is perceived as the principal challenger to the ruling NDA alliance consisting of BJP, JD(U), VIP, and HAM(S) under the leadership of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. Some of the other alliances in the fray include the 'Progressive Democratic Alliance' who has projected Jan Adhikar Party chief Pappu Yadav as the CM face and the 'United Democratic Secular Alliance' with former Upendra Kushwaha as the CM candidate. On the other hand, Chirag Paswan-led LJP is contesting the polls separately. Paswan's repeated attacks on Nitish Kumar and his open display of admiration for PM Modi has given rise to speculation of a tacit understanding between BJP and LJP. 

Seats going to polls in the first phase:

Dinara, Nokha, Dehri, Karakat, Arwal, Kurtha, Jehanabad, Ghosi, Makhdumpur (SC), Goh, Obra, Nabinagar, Kutumba (SC), Aurangabad, Rafiganj, Gurua, Sherghati, Imamganj (SC), Barachatti (SC), Bodh Gaya (SC), Gaya Town, Tikari, Belaganj, Atri, Wazirganj, Rajauli (SC), Hisua, Nawada, Gobindpur, Kahalgaon, Sultanganj, Amarpur, Dhoraiya (SC), Banka, Katoria (ST), Belhar, Tarapur, Munger, Jamalpur, Suryagarha, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura, Barbigha, Mokama, Barh, Masaurhi (SC), Paliganj, Bikram, Sandesh, Barhara, Arrah, Agiaon (SC), Tarari, Jagdishpur, Shahpur, Brahampur, Buxar, Dumraon, Rajpur (SC), Ramgarh, Mohania (SC), Bhabua, Chainpur, Chenari (SC), Sasaram, Kargahar, Warsaliganj, Sikandra (SC), Jamui, Jhajha, Chakai.

Key contenders in the first phase: 

BJP's Ram Narayan Mandal, Brij Kishor Bind, Prem Kumar and JD(U)'s Santosh Kumar Nirala, Krishna Nandan Prasad Verma, Shailesh Kumar and Jai Kumar Singh- Ministers in the Bihar government are standing for re-election. Verma is the only Minister who is contesting from a different constituency than the seat on which he secured victory in the 2015 election. 

Plurals Party chief Pushpam Priya Chaudhary is also running for election from this seat. Moreover, former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) is contesting from the Imamganj constituency. RJD has again given a ticket to sitting Mokama MLA Anant Singh. The don-turned-politician who has 38 cases registered against him won as an Independent candidate against JD(U) in the 2015 Assembly polls.

71 constituencies are going to the polls in the first phase of the Bihar polls on October 28. Here are the 10 key fights to watch out for:

1. Banka: Ram Narayan Mandal (BJP) vs Javed Iqbal Ansari (RJD)

2. Chainpur: Brij Kishor Bind (BJP) vs Prakash Kumar Singh (Congress)

3. Dinara: Jai Kumar Singh [JD(U)] vs Vijay Kumar Mandal (RJD)

4. Gaya Town: Prem Kumar (BJP) vs Akhauri Onkar Nath (Congress)

5. Imamganj: Jitan Ram Manjhi [HAM(S)] vs Uday Narain Choudhary (RJD)

6. Jamalpur: Shailesh Kumar [JD(U)] vs Ajay Kumar Singh (Congress)

7. Jamui: Vijay Prakash (RJD) vs Shreyasi Singh (BJP)

8. Jehanabad: Kumar Krishna Mohan (RJD) vs Krishna Nandan Prasad Verma [JD(U)] 

9.  Rajpur: Santosh Kumar Nirala [JD(U)] vs Vishwanath Ram (Congress)

FULL STORY HERE:  Bihar Elections 2020: Here Are 10 Key Electoral Battles To Watch Out For In Phase 1

Polling in 71 seats in the first phase of Bihar assembly elections was completed on October 28, with voter turnout at 54.26%. The other two phases of the Bihar election are on November 3 and November 7, and the results will be announced on November 10.  

94 constituencies will be polling in the second phase - namely:

• Nautan
• Chanpatia
• Bettiah
• Harsidhi (SC)
• Govindganj
• Kesaria
• Kalyanpur
• Pipra
• 18- Madhuban
• Sheohar
• Runnisaidpur
• Belsand
• Madhubani
• Rajnagar (SC)
• Jhanjharpur
• Phulparas
• Kusheshwar Asthan (SC)
• Gaura Bauram
• Benipur
• Alinagar
• Darbhanga Rural
• Minapur
• Kanti
• Baruraj
•  Paroo
• Sahebganj
•  Baikunthpur
• Barauli
• Gopalganj
• Kuchaikote
• Bhore (SC)
• Hathua
• Siwan
• Ziradei
• Darauli
• Raghunathpur
• Daraunda
• Barharia
• Goriakothi
• Maharajganj
• Ekma
• Manjhi
• Baniapur
• Taraiya
• Marhaura
• Chapra
• Garkha (SC)
• Amnour
• Parsa
• Sonepur
• Hajipur
•  Lalganj
• Vaishali
• Raja Pakar (SC)
• Raghopur
• Mahnar
• Ujiarpur
• Mohiuddinnagar
• Bibhutipur
• Rosera (SC)
• Hasanpur
• Cheria-Bariarpur
• Bachhwara
• Teghra
• Matihani
• Sahebpur Kamal
• Begusarai
• Bakhri (SC)
• Alauli (SC)
• Khagaria
• Beldaur
• Parbatta
• Bihpur
• Gopalpur
• Pirpainti (SC)
• Bhagalpur
•  Nathnagar
• Asthawan
• Biharsharif
• Rajgir (SC)
• Islampur
• Hilsa
• Nalanda
• Harnaut
• Bakhtiarpur
• Digha
• Bankipur
• Kumhrar
• Patna Sahib
• Fatuha
• Danapur
• Maner
• Phulwari (SC)

Turning up in large numbers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, poll-bound Bihar witnesses a massive turnout at 45.88% till 3 PM - voting for 71 seats.

A key constituency in which polling is underway in the first phase of assembly elections in Bihar is Imamganj. Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) is seeking re-election and is pitted against RJD's Uday Narain Choudhary, who had won this seat 4 times before losing to Manjhi in the 2015 election by 29,408 votes. Choudhary is ex-assembly speaker and was earlier with JDU. The other main candidates are Jitendra Kumar Paswan of RLSP and LJP's Shobha Sinha.

BJP's Prem Kumar is seeking reelection from Gaya town and is pitted against Congress' Akhauri Onkar Nath. In the 2015 Bihar Assembly polls, Kumar won the seat comfortably against Congress' Priya Ranjan. At present, he is also in charge of the Agriculture and Animal and Fisheries Resources portfolios in the NDA government in the state.  

However, in a gross violation of Model Code of Conduct, Bihar Minister and BJP leader Prem Kumar on Wednesday wore a mask bearing his party's symbol as he went to cast his vote. The Election Commission has asked Gaya DM to lodge FIR against Prem Kumar for violation of model code of conduct. 

The Jehanabad seat in central Bihar is represented by RJD's Kumar Krishna Mohan alias Suday Yadav. He faces a challenge from state Education Minister and JD(U) leader Krishna Nandan Prasad Verma who shifted from the neighbouring Ghosi seat. Mohan had won from this constituency in a 2018 by-election necessitated by the demise of RJD's Mundrika Singh Yadav. The latter had defeated RLSP's Praveen Kumar by 30,321 votes in the 2015 Bihar polls. BJP-turned-LJP leader Indu Devi Kashyap is another important candidate for the seat. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election rally in Patna

PM Modi addresses second rally of the day in Muzaffarpur 

Jamui: Vijay Prakash (RJD) vs Shreyasi Singh (BJP)

The Jamui seat is set to witness a high-octane battle between RJD's sitting MLA Vijay Prakash and BJP's Shreyasi Singh. The daughter of the late Digvijay Singh, Shreyasi is a professional shooter who has won both the silver and gold medals for India in the Commonwealth Games. During the 2015 Assembly election, Prakash- the younger son of former MoS Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav defeated BJP's Ajay Pratap by 8,249 votes. Pratap is contesting the polls on an RLSP ticket this time. Meanwhile, LJP has not fielded any candidate from this seat and extended full support to Shreyasi Singh. 

Bihar Minister and BJP leader Prem Kumar arrives at a polling booth in Gaya to cast his vote wearing a mask with his party's symbol.

Speaking to Republic TV, Jitan Ram Manjhi exuded confidence about his victory, "Thousand is a huge margin, percentage poll margin was also huge, now this year also I think there will be a huge margin. People from the grassroots has also said that voters will choose the one who is experienced. The margin of victory will be more than that of 2015 this year. See we do have PM Modi's and CM Nitish Kumar's development agenda, but along with it, here, if you ask people, they will say in the past 5 years, Manjhi has ensured that people of the constituency sleep peacefully without fearing anything. See people who are roaming about with the Opposition parties will also vote for me, but they won't reveal that because those parties will then get them killed."

Speaking about Tejashwi Yadav, he said, "Who is in front of Nitish Kumar? The one who is the contender is inexperienced, he became the Deputy Chief Minister at the virtue of his father. The other day he said, "my father ruled on the Babus". Now he doesn't know that Babu is a caste. he is saying Babus meaning clerk, even if it means clerk, what do you suggest, your father ran the state with an iron fist on government employees, he is inexperienced. What things they said about late Raghuvansh Prasad Singh who was loyal to Lalu ji and RJD forever, both the brothers are inexperienced and knows nothing, what will be the condition of BIhar if they rule, you can just imagine."

Voting for 71 seats in the first phase of the Bihar elections 2020 is underway from 7 am on Wednesday, Voting percentage till 9 AM is 6.74%

As the first phase of the Bihar elections gets underway on Wednesday, PM Modi is all set to address three rallies in constituencies that are going to polls in the second phase of the elections.  PM Modi will address three rallies - at Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur and Patna. 

• Darbhanga - 11 AM
• Muzaffarpur - 12.30 PM
• Patna - 2 PM

As the first phase of the Bihar elections gets underway on Wednesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to hold two rallies on Wednesday - Valmiki Nagar and Kusheshwar. Rahul Gandhi has urged voters in the state to vote for Mahagatbandhan in order to bring a positive change and development in Bihar. 

Voting for 71 seats in the first phase of the Bihar elections 2020 is underway from 7 am on Wednesday, Voting percentage till 8 AM is 5%

Addressing a press briefing on Wednesday, Mahagathbandhan CM candidate Tejashwi Yadav, said that the Munger incident exposes the real face of Bihar Police and the act is condemnable. As per news agency ANI, one person was killed and over two dozen people, including security personnel, were injured in firing and stone-pelting during goddess Durga idol immersion in Munger, police said on Tuesday.

"In a democracy, voting is not just a right but also a responsibility. In the first phase of Bihar assembly elections, voting is on 71 seats today. If you are a voter of these areas, then please take the time to vote. One vote of yours can keep the pace of development in Bihar and make it a developed state," incumbent CM Nitish Kumar tweeted in Hindi, as voting in phase 1 underway in Bihar.

 Union Minister Giriraj Singh waiting to cast his vote at a polling booth in Lakhisarai

As polling began in the first phase of the assembly election in Bihar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged voters to participate in the festival of democracy while also following the protocol mentioned to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He reiterated, "Do gaj doori, mask pehnenna jaruri" (Social distancing and mask are necessary). He also repeated his patent election one-liner, "Pehle Matdaan fir jalpaan" (First vote then eat).

As polling is underway in the Jehanabad seat, Republic TV's team is present at a polling booth which is rewarding the voters for exercising their franchise. They are being given a plant in order to promote eco-friendly methods of living and a 'Samman Patra' starting the importance of one vote.

Giriraj Singh, Union Minister of Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has exercised his franchise and cast his vote. 

Ahead of the first phase of the Assembly election in Bihar, two improvised explosive devices were recovered and defused by Central Reserve Police Force from Aurangabad's Dhibra area. (ANI)

As voting in the first phase of Bihar elections begins, BJP's Amit Malviya has claimed that the Modi-Nitish team has only got 3 years to work for Bihar. Earlier, PM Modi had said, "They were angry when they were voted out, so they took revenge while being together with UPA in Centre. They stopped Nitish Kumar from taking forward the development agenda. They wasted 10 years of Nitish. After that for 18 months, how the family ran the state, you all are aware of it. For Bihar's welfare, we (BJP) have become together with Nitish."

Guidelines have been issued by the Election Commission for the safe conduct of the electoral exercise in the midst of the raging COVID-19 pandemic as polling in 71 setas in Bihar is underway. These guidelines include lowering the maximum number of voters for a polling booth from 1,600 to 1,000, staggering of polling hours and extending postal ballot facility for those above 80. Besides, sanitisation of electronic voting machines, wearing of masks and other protective gear by polling personnel and the availability of thermal scanner, hand sanitiser, soap and water has also to be ensured at polling stations.

Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters) Jitendra Kumar told PTI-Bhasha that security forces have been deployed in adequate strength at all polling stations and the buildings housing them. The local police have also been used to supplement the paramilitary forces wherever required, he said, adding the services of home guard jawans will also be taken at polling stations for works like maintaining the queue. He said that as a precautionary measure, all security personnel deployed on poll duty have been given a coronavirus kit which has a face mask, gloves, a face shield and sanitisers. He said special security arrangements have been made for the Naxal-affected areas. Most of the state's Naxal-hit areas are going to polls in the first phase, he said.

Taking to Twitter, ahead of the first phase of Bihar assembly elections, LJP chief Chirag Paswan has appealed to voters to use their franchise and has added that democracy has to be strengthened for the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. 

Earlier, in his tweet, he had put forth his Bihar first Bihari first agenda and said that RJD will be strengthened if Nitish Kumar is voted. He reiterated that BJP and LJP will form the government in Bihar. 

Tejashwi Yadav, CM candidate of the Mahagathbandhan has appealed to the people of Bihar, ahead of the first phase of Bihar elections 2020, to vote for a better future and for better health, education and development. 

Voting has begun in the first phase of Bihar Elections 2020. 71 seats are in fray, namely,  Dinara, Nokha, Dehri, Karakat, Arwal, Kurtha, Jehanabad, Ghosi, Makhdumpur (SC), Goh, Obra, Nabinagar, Kutumba (SC), Aurangabad, Rafiganj, Gurua, Sherghati, Imamganj (SC), Barachatti (SC), Bodh Gaya (SC), Gaya Town, Tikari, Belaganj, Atri, Wazirganj, Rajauli (SC), Hisua, Nawada, Gobindpur, Kahalgaon, Sultanganj, Amarpur, Dhoraiya (SC), Banka, Katoria (ST), Belhar, Tarapur, Munger, Jamalpur, Suryagarha, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura, Barbigha, Mokama, Barh, Masaurhi (SC), Paliganj, Bikram, Sandesh, Barhara, Arrah, Agiaon (SC), Tarari, Jagdishpur, Shahpur, Brahampur, Buxar, Dumraon, Rajpur (SC), Ramgarh, Mohania (SC), Bhabua, Chainpur, Chenari (SC), Sasaram, Kargahar, Warsaliganj, Sikandra (SC), Jamui, Jhajha, Chakai.

Preparations underway at a polling station in Munger as the voting for the first phase of Bihar Elections to begin shortly.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address campaign rallies in Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Patna on Wednesday. The voting for the first phase in 71 seats of Bihar will get underway on the same day.