Bihar Lok Sabha Elections: 1.5 crore voters to cast vote in 8 constituencies | Details

Around 1.5 crore voters in eight constituencies of Bihar will choose from 86 candidates on Friday in the sixth and second-to-last phase of the general elections.

The areas voting in Bihar are Valmiki Nagar, West Champaran, East Champaran, Sheohar, Siwan, Gopalganj, Maharajganj, and Vaishali. This phase finishes voting for all areas in Bihar north of the Ganges River.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party, Janta Dal (United), is running in four of these constituencies, including Sheohar, which was won by the BJP five years ago.

Major constituencies and candidates

In Sheohar, the main competition is between Lovely Anand from JD(U), who hopes to win support from upper-caste Rajputs due to her family's popularity, and Ritu Jaiswal from Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Jaiswal appeals to Vaishyas who are unhappy that the BJP did not choose the current MP Rama Devi, who has won the seat several times before.

In Siwan, the race has become complicated for JD(U) and RJD because Hina Shahab, whose late husband Mohd Shahabuddin won the seat several times, is running as an Independent. To avoid seeming too supportive of upper castes and to strengthen its OBC support, JD(U) did not give the ticket to the current MP, Kavita Singh, and instead chose newcomer Vijaylakshmi Kushwaha.

Moreover, RJD candidate Awadh Bihari Chaudhary is an experienced leader, having served multiple terms as an MLA and is a former assembly Speaker.

In Valmiki Nagar, JD(U) trusts sitting MP Sunil Kumar, who first won in a 2020 by-election after his father, Baidyanath Mahto, passed away. His main opponent is RJD's Deepak Yadav, who recently left the BJP. His candidacy is seen as an effort to disrupt the usual caste-based voting patterns in the area.

In Gopalganj, a reserved seat, JD(U) is supporting its current MP, Alok Suman. He faces competition from local businessman Premnath Chanchal of the Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP). Chanchal relies on support from the RJD, with which his new party has allied for the general elections.

The BJP is contesting three of the eight seats in this phase, including Pashchim Champaran, where former state president Sanjay Jaiswal is aiming for his fourth consecutive win. His main opponent is Madan Mohan Tiwari of the Congress, a former MLA from Bettiah.

In Purbi Champaran, Radha Mohan Singh, a long-time MP and former Union minister, got a ticket due to his close relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, despite the party usually preferring candidates under 75. His main opponent is Rajesh Kushwaha from the VIP party, who used to be with RJD. Kushwaha's candidacy is seen as an effort to unite OBC voters against Singh, an upper-caste Rajput.

In Maharajganj, the BJP is supporting sitting MP Janardan Singh Sigriwal, who is aiming for his third win. His main challenger is Akash Prasad Singh of the Congress. Akash's father, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, is a Rajya Sabha MP and the head of the party's state unit. The Congress chose Akash, a Bhumihar, to appeal to this powerful upper-caste group, which has a long-standing rivalry with the Rajputs.

In Vaishali, the rivalry between Rajputs and Bhumihars is significant. Veena Devi, who is trying to keep her seat, faces a tough challenge from RJD's Vijay Kumar Shukla. Veena Devi won in 2019 as an LJP candidate and is the only MP Chirag Paswan considered for a ticket, despite her support for his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras during the party split. Shukla, a local strongman and former MLA, has previously been with both LJP and JD(U). His candidacy is seen as another RJD strategy to disrupt the NDA's voter base.

Bihar voter dynamics

Out of the 1.49 crore voters casting their votes on Friday, 71.08 lakh are women. Gopalganj has the most voters, 20.24 lakh, while Pashchim Champaran has the fewest, 17.56 lakh.

Over 33 lakh voters are under 30 years old, with 2.12 lakh of them aged 18-19.

The constituencies voting are mostly rural, shown by the fact that only 1,281 out of 14,872 polling stations are in urban areas.