A security personnel checks identification cards of people waiting in a queue at a polling station to cast their votes during the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections, in Patna, Saturday, June 1, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
Patna: Polling commenced on Saturday morning for eight Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar, along with the by-election to the Agiaon assembly seat, to determine the fate of 134 candidates.
Voting began at 7 am in Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Arrah, Karakat, Jehanabad, Buxar, Nalanda, and Jehanabad Lok Sabha seats and will continue till 6 pm.
Over 1.6 crore people in these eight seats are eligible to cast their votes to decide the electoral fate of the candidates, a senior official said.
Voting is underway at 16,634 polling stations, with 3,885 situated in urban areas.
Several high-profile candidates are in the fray such as Union Minister RK Singh, who is seeking his third term from Arrah, where his principal challenger is Sudama Prasad, a sitting MLA of CPI(ML) Liberation.
The Arrah Lok Sabha seat includes six assembly segments, including Agiaon, a reserved seat, where a by-poll is also being conducted simultaneously due to the disqualification of CPI(ML) MLA Manoj Manzil following his conviction in a murder case. The Left party's candidate in the bypoll is Shiv Prakash Ranjan, while the NDA has fielded Prabhunath Prasad of JD(U).
In Patna Sahib, veteran BJP parliamentarian Ravi Shankar Prasad is vying for a second consecutive Lok Sabha term, with Congress spokesperson Anshul Avijit as his principal challenger.
In Pataliputra, RJD president Lalu Prasad's eldest daughter Misa Bharti is contesting for the third time, while BJP MP Ram Kripal Yadav is aiming for a hat-trick.
In Nalanda, the home district of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, sitting MP Kaushlendra Kumar hopes to retain the seat for JD(U), with Sandeep Saurav, a sitting CPI(ML) MLA, as the principal challenger.
Karakat is witnessing a multi-cornered fight, notably with Bhojpuri superstar Pawan Singh contesting as an Independent. Upendra Kushwaha, former Union minister and head of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, is hopeful of regaining the seat following his return to the BJP-led coalition.
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