Bihar Elections 2025: From arrested Youtuber to gold-medalist to former Deputy CMs - Key battles to watch out for in Phase 2

The phase 2 and final phase of Bihar Elections 2025 will take place on Nov 11. 121 Assembly seats will be polling on this date, including the crucial Seemanchal region of the state. In the phase 1 of the polls, voters of the state registered record of 65.08 per cent turnout, as per the Election Commission. Muzaffarpur recorded the highest turnout at 71.81 per cent, followed by Samastipur at 71.74 per cent. In Phase 2, 20 districts will go to polls. The counting of votes for all 243 assembly constituencies will be held on November 14. Fate of 12 current ministers from NDA are at stake in this phase. Two major alliances contesting the polls are NDA (National Democratic Alliance)INDIA Bloc (Mahagathbandhan). Also in fray is Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party. From Jamui to Dhamdaha to Chhatapur to Chanpatia: here's a list of important constituencies in PHASE 2

Contesting from Chanpatia assembly seat in Paschim Champaran district, Manish Kashyap, also known as Tripurari Kumar Tiwari is facing BJP’s sitting MLA Umakant Singh and Abhishek Ranjan from the Congress. Kashyap YouTuber-turned-politician who is making his debut in electoral politics. Kashyap came into limelight after he was arrested in March 2023 after he allegedly spread fake videos claiming that Bihari migrant labourers were being attacked in Tamil Nadu. He was granted bail by the Madras High Court in late 2023 but continued to face other pending cases. Chanpatia is BJP's fortress, but Jan Suraaj is riding on the wave of anti-incumbency.

Ran Kaushal Pratap Singh has made the Lauriya constituency in Paschim Champaran a seat to watch out for as he is the richest candidate in Bihar elections with declared assets worth ₹368.98 crore. His wife, Saloni Singh, has shown assets of ₹131 crore. He is contesting on the ticket of Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) and is pitted against incumbent three-time MLA Vinay Bihari of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

A national-level gold medalist in shooting, Shreyasi Singh, is seeking re-election on a BJP ticket from Jamui district. Singh won the Jamui seat by defeating RJD’s Vijay Prakash, a former minister, by a margin of over 41,000 votes in 2020. Mahagathbandhan has fielded Mohammad Shamsad Alam against her.

Phulparas constituency in Madhubani district is one of the closely watched seat as Sheela Mandal of JD(U) is seeking re-election. Tejashwi Yadav was at one point speculated to run from this seat but he chose Raghopur.

Nitish Mishra from BJP is the sitting MLA is contesting against CPI's Ram Narayan Yadav from Madhubani district's Jhanjharpur. The two are old rivals with CPI candidate having defeated Mishra in 2010 and 2015, while Mishra finally defeating him in 2020. A left stronghold, BJP wants to continue its 2020 performance with the son of former CM of the state Jagannath Mishra.

Ritesh Pandey, a famous Bhojpuri singer and actor, is contesting the Kargahar Assembly seat in Rohtas district. Congress' Santosh Kumar Mishra and Vashisht Singh of (JD(U) are contesting against him. CPI's Mahendra Prasad Gupta is also contesting fom here in what is a proof of feud between Mahagathbandhan partners. Pandey rose to international fame with his hit song "Hello Kaun." Jan Suraaj is eyeing to win the seat as it is Prashant Kishor's home turf - Sasaram, Rohtas.

Leshi Singh, a five-time MLA is seeking another term from Dhamdaha in Purnia district. She is pitted against JDU turncoat Santosh Kushwaha. He joined RJD just ahead of elections. What is interesting is the fact that Kushwaha has been backed by Purnia MP Pappu Yadav - who defeated Kushwaha in 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. Pappu Yadav contested Purnia as an independent after being denied ticket by RJD. He defeated JDU's Santosh Kushwaha. But as they say, there no permanent friends or foe in politics, Kushwaha, just a year later, is seen riding pillion on Yadav's bike

Neeraj Kumar Singh, cousin of late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput is seeking reelection from Chhatapur. He is again pitted against RJD's Dr Vipin Kumar Nonia who was defeated in 2020. A JD(U) stronghold, BJP breached it in 2015.

BJP veteran and former Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad is seeking reelection from the seat he has held from 2005. He is facing Vikassheel Insaan Party's Saurabh Agarwal, son of his longtime aide Ashok Agarwal and Jan Suraaj Party has fielded Ghazi Sharique.

Former Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi represented Bettiah four times and is now seeking re-election once again. She lost the election in 2015 to the Indian National Congress (INC) candidate, Madan Mohan Tiwari, before regaining the seat in 2020. The current 2025 election will be her sixth time contesting from the Bettiah constituency (she also contested, and lost, from Nautan in 1995). Devi is primarily pitted against Washi Ahmad of Congress and Anil Kumar Singh of the Jan Suraaj Party.

Former Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary has shifted his base from Imamganj to Sikandra after four decades. The main contest in Sikandra is between Uday Narayan Choudhary (RJD) and Prafull Kumar Manjhi of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAMS), who is the sitting MLA and part of the NDA alliance. The Congress party also has a candidate, Vinod Kumar Chaudhary, leading to a complex "friendly contest" within the broader Mahagathbandhan on this seat.

Stronghold of former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, Deepa Kumari Manjhi is contesting from here against Ritu Priya Chaudhary of RJD and Ajeet Kumar of the Jan Suraaj Party. Deepa Kumari Manjhi is daughter-in-law of itan Ram Manjhi. Jitan Ram, who won the seat in both 2015 and 2020 against Uday Narayan Choudhary of the RJD.

Incumbent MLA and a senior cabinet minister in the Bihar government, Prem Kumar is seeking re-election from Gaya Town. The primary challenger is Akhauri Onkar Nath of Congress who was defeated in 2020. He has held the Gaya Town seat since 1990 and the seat is considered a BJP stronghold.

Sumit Kumar Singh is in a competitive multi-cornered contest from Chakai constituency. He previously won the seat as an independent candidate in 2020. Savitri Devi of the RJD and Rahul Kumar of Jan Suraaj is contesting from here. He comes from an influential political family and has won this seat twice before. In the 2020 assembly elections, he narrowly defeated the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate, Savitri Devi, as an independent with a margin of just 581 votes. He also won the seat in 2010 on a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) ticket.

Upendra Kushwaha's wife, Snehlata Kushwaha, is contesting from the Sasaram assembly constituency. She is up against Satendra Sah of RJD and Binay Kumar Singh of Jan Suraaj. Sasaram has historically been a stronghold for leaders from the Kushwaha community. Her candidacy is backed by the full machinery of the NDA, including the BJP and JD(U). High-profile leaders like Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath campaigned for her.

Anand, son of influential former MP and don-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh and Lovely Anand is up against Shweta Gupta of JDU and Navneet Kumar of RJD. While he was the sitting MLA for Sheohar (having won the seat in 2020 on an RJD ticket), he has since switched parties to the JD(U) and is contesting the 2025 election from the Nabinagar constituency in the Aurangabad district.

Other important seats in Phase 2 are Kadwa, Supaul, Banka, Bhagalpur, Amarpur.The election results will be announced on November 14.