Bihar will go for the third and final phase of polls on Saturday across 78 assembly constituencies spread over 16 districts with all players having made last-ditch efforts to woo voters.
Over 2.35 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in this phase including nearly 1.23 crore male and 1.12 crore female voters.
Election Commission has made adequate arrangements for the election with precautionary measures against COVID-19.
Top campaigners of political parties in the fray including Prime Minister Narendra Modi held rallies ahead of the third phase of polling.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal has the maximum number of 46 candidates in the third phase followed by Lok Janshakti Party at 42.
The Janata Dal (United) has fielded 37 candidates, Bharatiya Janata Party 35, Nationalist Congress Party 31, Congress 25, Rashtriya Lok Samta Party 23 and Bahujan Samaj Party 19. The Communist Party of India (CPI) is contesting two seats.
A total of 1,204 candidates, including 382 independents, are in the fray for the last phase with 1,094 male and 110 female candidates.
Gaighata has a maximum 31 candidates, while Dhaka, Triveniganj, Jokihat and Bahadurganj have the least number of nine candidates each.
Valmiki Nagar is the largest assembly constituency area-wise, whereas Saharsa is the largest in terms of the size of the electorate. Hayaghat is the smallest assembly constituency.
The third phase of polling will decide the fate of leaders such as Abdul Bari Siddiqui contesting from Kewati, Sharad Yadav''s daughter Subhashini Yadav from Bihariganj, Lovely Anand contesting from Saharsa, Nikhil Mandal from Madhepura and Akhtarul Iman from Amour. Eight ministers of JD-U are also in the field in this phase.
Apart from NDA and RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, Grand Secular Democratic Front comprising, RLSP, AIMIM, BSP and some other parties is also seeking to make its mark.
Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) of former MP Rajiv Ranjan aka Pappu Yadav and other smaller parties are also fighting hard on their turfs.
In the Seemanchal region going to polls in the third phase, Mahagathbandhan has 14 MLAs, NDA nine and the AIMIM one. Thirty-eight seats in Mithilanchal region will also go to the polls.
Several seats in the third phase election have a sizeable presence of minority voters.
The state witnessed 55.69 per cent polling in the first phase of elections on October 28 and 53.51 per cent in the second phase held on November 3.
The state assembly has 243 seats and results will be declared on November 10.
Here are the Live Updates on Bihar Assembly Election 2020:
Polling will also take place for Valmiki Nagar Lok Sabha seat where a by-election has been necessitated by the death of sitting JD(U) MP Baidyanath Mahato.
The JD(U)'s bid to retain the Parliamentry seat by fielding his son Sunil Kumar is facing the primary challenge from Congress candidate Pravesh Kumar Mishra, a journalist-turned-politician.
Like Valmiki Nagar, all the 78 poll-bound assembly segments spread across 19 districts fall in north Bihar, as areas falling north of the Ganges in the state are called in common parlance.
Many of these fall in the Kosi-Seemanchal region where the contest between NDA and Grand Alliance will be held under the shadow of Owaisi factor given the fact that the AIMIM has fielded candidates in many of the Muslim-dominated seats and the Hyderabad MP also carried out a hectic campaign.
The Kosi-Seemanchal region also happens to be the main area of influence for maverick former MP Pappu Yadav, whose Jan Adhikar Party is determined to make its presence felt and
prove a point to the RJD as both draw their support from the states most populous community the Yadavs.
Unidentified assailants shot at Ravindra Nath Singh, independent candidate from Hayaghat assembly seat in Darbhanga, in Thathopur area on Thursday ahead of the third phase of polling in Bihar. He was admitted to a local hospital.
The third phase of the poll for 78 seats in Bihar will be held on November 7, mostly in Muslim-dominated Seemanchal areas of northeast Bihar. In the third phase, 33,782 control units, 45,953 ballot units and 33,782 VVPATs will be used in 33,782 polling stations. The result will be declared on November 10.
Lalu Prasad Yadav Won't Get Bail Before Bihar Election Results, Court Defers Fodder Scam Case Hearing To November 27Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Yadav's bail hearing in a fodder scam case was deferred today to November 27 as the CBI didn't file its arguments before the Jharkhand High Court.
अमनौर में चुनावी जनसभा के पश्चात हुई सड़क दुर्घटना में तीन लोगों की मौत की दुखद खबर ने मन व्यथित कर दिया है। ईश्वर उनके परिजनों को दुख की इस घड़ी में संबल प्रदान करे दे। घायलों के शीघ्र स्वस्थ होने की कामना करता हूँ।
- Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) November 6, 2020
सुविधाओं की सुगमता से सुधारे हैं बिहार
- Janata Dal (United) (@Jduonline) November 6, 2020
जननीतियों के निर्णयन से संवारें हैं बिहार ।।#7Nishchay2 #Vote4Nitish#तरक्की_दिखती_है #परखा_है_जिसको_चुनेंगे_उसी_को pic.twitter.com/aYXoTzrUHf
Bihar Election 2020: On Rahul Gandhi's Remark On Voting Machines, Chirag Paswan's "Good Sign" JibeLok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Chirag Paswan on Thursday said questions being raised by Congress and Mahagathbandhan over the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) show that they have accepted their defeat in the ensuing Bihar Assembly polls and termed it as a good sign for BJP-LJP."
किसान, नौजवान, छात्र, महिला, मज़दूर, गरीब और व्यवसायियों ने मिलकर अपने मुद्दों के दम पर 10 नवंबर को बिहार से एनडीए सरकार की विदाई तय कर दी है।
- Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) November 5, 2020
आज बोचहां विधानसभा क्षेत्र में पार्टी प्रत्याशी श्री रमई राम जी के पक्ष में जुटा जनसैलाब। pic.twitter.com/LfHhLtAZdp
A total of 2.35 crore voters will exercise their franchise on November 7 as Bihar goes to its third and final phase of election to decide the fate of remaining 78 seats in 16 districts.
There are 1.23 crore are male voters, while 1.12 crore are women and 894 third gender voters in the general category. Altogether there are 22,019 service voters.
It is a shame that Bihar's people still don't have access to the basic rights. The Congress-RJD alliance will change that. pic.twitter.com/BU2S4MeGw8
- Congress (@INCIndia) November 6, 2020
बिहार में विकास हो, सब लोगों का सम्मान हो। बिहार प्रगति के पथ पर और आगे बढ़े। सब मेलजोल से रहें और बिहार को और आगे बढ़ाएं, यही दुआ है। pic.twitter.com/dDsIZ5qbGz
- Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) November 5, 2020
'Last election' ploy is not an appeal for support based on his performance, but a plea for mercy on the basis of his non-performance
- P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) November 5, 2020
Why should the people of Bihar vote for a person who, if elected, will be a lame duck from day one?
