Bihar Elections 2025: First phase voting today to decide fate of 15 ministers, CM aspirant Tejashwi
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Bihar Elections 2025: First phase voting today to decide fate of 15 ministers, CM aspirant Tejashwi")
Polling officials leave for election duty on the eve of the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, in Patna. Photograph: (PTI)
The first phase election is particularly significant for the Mahagathbandhan, which had bagged 63 of these seats in the 2020 election, while the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its alliance partner Janata Dal (United) together had won 55 seats.
The first phase of the voting in the Bihar Assembly election will take place on Thursday, as voters will decide the fate of 1,314 candidates, including top leaders like INDIA bloc chief ministerial face Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, two deputy CMs—Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha—and 13 other cabinet ministers of the Nitish Kumar-led coalition government. More than 3.75 crore electors are expected to cast their votes at 45,341 polling stations in the first phase. The state’s chief electoral officer, Vinod Singh Gunjiyal, said on Wednesday that in the first phase, voting would be held in 18 districts and all necessary preparations have been made for fair polling. The electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) were handed over to the polling parties despatched to polling centres in 121 assembly constituencies.
Among the 15 cabinet ministers in the fray are two deputy CMs, while five are from the JD(U).
The BJP ministers whose electoral fate will be decided on Thursday include deputy chief ministers Samrat Choudhary (Tarapur) and Vijay Sinha (Lakhisarai), revenue and land reforms minister Sanjay Saraogi (Darbhanga), Jibesh Kumar Mishra (Jale), Kedar Prasad Gupta (Kurhani), Mangal Pandey (Siwan), Krishna Kumar Mantoo (Amnour), Surendra Mehta (Bachchwara), Dr Sunil Kumar (Biharsharif) and Nitin Nabin (Bankipur).
The five JD(U) ministers in fray are Vijay Kumar Choudhary (Sarairanjan), Shrawan Kumar (Nalanda), education minister Sunil Kumar (Bhore), Madan Sahni (Bahadurpur), and Ratnesh Sada (Sonbarsa).
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Tejashwi Yadav, estranged brother Tej Pratap also in fray
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INDIA bloc chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Prasad Yadav is eyeing a hat-trick from Raghopur, a stronghold of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family. Tejashwi’s main challenger is Satish Kumar (BJP) who had defeated Rabri Devi in 2010 while contesting on JD(U) symbol.
Tejashwi’s elder brother and former minister Tej Pratap Yadav is contesting from Mahua in Vaishali district.
In Tarapur, deputy CM Samrat is contesting a direct election after about a decade and faces some challenge from RJD candidate Arun Kumar Sah, who lost the seat in a by-election by a thin margin.
The other deputy CM, Vijay Sinha, hopes to retain Lakhisarai for the fourth consecutive term. He faces Amresh Kumar of the Congress and Suraj Kumar of the Jan Suraaj.
One of the keenly watched contests will be in Mokama, where JD(U)’s don-turned-politician Anant Kumar Singh, who was recently sent to jail in connection with the killing of Dular Chand Yadav, a Jan Suraaj supporter, is locked in a straight battle with the RJD’s Veena Devi, wife of don-turned-politician Surajbhan.
Maithili, Khesari Lal and Ritesh Pandey among ‘star’ candidates
Among the keenly watched candidates in the first phase are young folk singer Maithili Thakur (BJP-Aliganj) and Bhojpuri superstars Khesari Lal Yadav (RJD-Chhapra) and Ritesh Pandey (Jan Suraaj Party–Kargahar).
As per the Election Commission data, Digha constituency in the state capital has the maximum number of about 4.58 lakh electors among the 121 seats going to polls in the first phase, while Barbigha in Sheikhpura district has the lowest, with 2.32 lakh electors.
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Of the total 3.75 crore electors in the 121 constituencies, 10.72 lakh are new electors.
The first phase is significant for the Mahagathbandhan, which had won 63 of these seats in the 2020 election. The ruling BJP and Janata Dal (United) together had won 55.
