Bihar Assembly polls: Fate of eight ministers at stake in first phase; check other key candidates

New Delhi: Voting for the first phase of Bihar assembly elections is scheduled to be held on October 28, with 71 constituencies going to vote in 16 districts, including some of the Naxal-hit areas. This phase is very crucial for eight ministers of the state government as their fate will be decided in the polling on Wednesday.

In the first phase, the ministers whose reputation is at stake are Agriculture Minister Dr Prem Kumar, Education Minister Krishnanandan Verma, along with others, including Shailesh Kumar, Jai Kumar Singh, Santosh Kumar Nirala, Ramnarayan Mandal, Vijay Kumar Sinha, and Brijkishore Bind.

Apart from these ministers, other key candidates whose fate will be sealed in the EVM are Shresi Singh from Jamui seat, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and former Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary from Imamganj, while Bahubali Anant Kumar Singh from Mokama constituency.

Of the 71 assembly constituencies in the first phase, the RJD has fielded 42 candidates, while fate of JDU's 35, BJP's 29, Congress' 21s, eight of CPI-ML, six of HAM and one of VIP candidate will be sealed into the EVMs. Among other parties include 43 of RLSP, 42 of LJP and 27 of BSP.

It may be noted that of the 42 LJP candidates, 35 have been fielded against JD-U, while six are fighting against HAM and one is challenging VIP candidate.

Ahead of the first phase of voting, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today promised solar streetlights and irrigation facilities in villages if he gets another term, during a rally at Hilsa in Nalanda district. He also vowed to reach out to the people, left out due to the COVID-19 pandemic, after the elections. 

RJD leader and Mahagatbandhan`s chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav, however, posed 11 questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his visit to Bihar on October 28. Prime Minister will hold rallies in Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, and Patna on Wednesday. 

Tejashwi Yadav today stated, "Tomorrow Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming to Bihar. I want to ask these questions from the double engine government of Delhi and Patna," while posing 11 questions. 

Notably, Bihar Assembly elections will be held in three phases on October 28, November 3, and 7, while the counting of votes will take place on November 10.