Voting for 121 of the 243 Assembly seats in the first phase of the Bihar elections began at 7 am on Thursday. As of 11 am, the voter turnout in Bihar was 27.6%, according to the Election Commission.

The Begusarai district recorded the highest percentage of 30.3%, while the Patna district registered the lowest figure of 23.7%.

Polling is being held at 45,341 stations, most of them in rural areas. Of the 3.75 crore voters in these constituencies, 10.72 lakh are first-time voters, including 7.38 lakh aged 18-19 years.

The total population of these constituencies is 6.6 crore. Of these, about three crore people are not eligible to vote, mostly because they are underage.

The main contest in Bihar is between the ruling National Democratic Alliance and the Opposition Mahagathbandhan. Former political strategist Prashant Kishor’s newly-launched party Jan Suraaj is also making its electoral debut this election.

The NDA comprises the Janata Dal (United), the Bharatiya Janata Party, Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party, the Rashtriya Lok Morcha and the Hindustani Awam Morcha.

The Mahagathbandhan includes the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Congress, the Vikassheel Insaan Party, and three Left parties – the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), the Communist Party of India, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) – along with the newly formed Indian Inclusive Party.

Among the prominent candidates in the fray are the Opposition’s chief ministerial candidate and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Tejashwi Yadav is contesting from Raghopur, where he is aiming for a third consecutive win. His main opponent is Satish Kumar of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who had defeated Tejashwi Yadav’s mother, Rabri Devi, in 2010 when he contested on a Janata Dal (United) ticket.

In nearby Mahua, Tejashwi Yadav’s elder brother, Tej Pratap Yadav, who recently formed his own party, the Janshakti Janata Dal, is in a multi-cornered fight. He was hoping to clinch the seat from RJD’s Mukesh Raushan, the sitting MLA.

Follow Scroll’s coverage of the Bihar polls here.

Several ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, including both Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, are also contesting in the first phase. Choudhary, who has been a member of the legislative council for two terms, is contesting a direct election after about ten years from Tarapur. He faces a tough fight against the RJD’s Arun Kumar Sah, who had lost the seat by just about 5,000 votes in 2020.

Other ministers, most from the BJP, in the fray include Nitin Nabin (Bankipur), Sanjay Saraogi (Darbhanga), Jibesh Kumar (Jale) and Kedar Prasad Gupta (Kurhani), all defending their seats. From Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), ministers Shrawan Kumar (Nalanda) and Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (Sarairanjan) are contesting.

One of the most closely watched battles is in Mokama, where JD(U)’s Anant Singh, currently in jail for his alleged role in the killing of a Jan Suraaj Party worker, is contesting against RJD’s Veena Devi, wife of former MP and gangster Suraj Bhan.

This election is being held after a special intensive revision of voter rolls in Bihar. In the final electoral roll published on September 30, at least 47 lakh voters were excluded.

Several petitions against the voter roll revision in Bihar flagged concerns that the process could remove eligible voters from the list.

According to the Election Commission, Digha in Patna has the highest number of voters at about 4.58 lakh, while Barbigha in Sheikhpura district has the fewest, at 2.32 lakh. Kurhani and Muzaffarpur constituencies have the highest number of candidates – 20 each – while Bhorey, Alauli, and Parbatta have the fewest, with five each.

The second phase of voting will be held on Tuesday, and results will be declared on November 14.

In the 2020 Assembly polls, the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan ended up with an identical vote share at 37.2%.

However, the NDA returned to power in Bihar with a slender majority, winning 125 seats in the 243-member state Assembly. The Opposition bagged 110 seats.

The RJD, led by Lalu Prasad Yadav, emerged as the single-largest party with 75 seats but still lost the election.

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