Bihar Phase 2 polls are set to decide the winners, with high-profile candidates and tight races in constituencies like Champaran, Jamui, Sikandra, and Katihar drawing significant political attention
The main contest is between the NDA, led by BJP and JD(U), and the Mahagathbandhan, anchored by RJD and Congress, while smaller parties like AIMIM and Jan Suraaj are also in the fray.
Over 3.7 crore voters are eligible, with more than 45,000 polling stations and four lakh security personnel deployed to ensure smooth and safe voting
Bihar is set for the second leg of its Assembly election on Tuesday, November 11, when 122 constituencies across 20 districts will vote. This round comes after an unprecedented turnout, more than 65 per cent, was recorded in the opening phase held across 121 seats in 18 districts. But, it must be noted that approximately 47 lakh voters were removed from the voter list as a result of the Special Intensive Revision exercise by the Election Commission.
The 2020 Bihar Assembly election saw the BJP take 42 of the 122 constituencies now voting in the second phase. The RJD secured 33, the JD(U) 20, Congress 11, and Left parties five. In the 2015 poll, when the JD(U) and RJD were partners, the BJP tally fell to 36, while the JD(U)–RJD–Congress combine swept 80 of these seats.
This year, 1,302 candidates are contesting, including 136 women. More than 45,000 polling stations have been set up, and around 3.7 crore citizens are eligible to vote.
The seats in this phase stretch across northern, southern and western Bihar. The BJP has long enjoyed an advantage in Tirhut, Saran and the northern Mithilanchal belt. Thirty-one constituencies in Champaran and Madhubani are seen as pivotal. In 2020, these seats recorded the highest turnout at nearly 60 per cent. The NDA won 25, while the Mahagathbandhan managed six, weakening the Opposition’s bid for power.
The 90 seats in Tirhut, Seemanchal and Magadh have been highlighted as decisive. The NDA controls 40 in Tirhut, while the Grand Alliance dominates Magadh with 26. Both sides are bracing for a closely fought contest in Seemanchal. In 2020, Tirhut proved key to the NDA surge, returning 31 seats across East Champaran, West Champaran, Sitamarhi, Sheohar and Madhubani. The Grand Alliance performed strongly in Magadh’s Gaya, Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Nawada and Arwal.
Voting is also taking place across West Champaran, Sitamarhi, Rohtas, Bhagalpur, Purnea, Katihar, Aurangabad, Araria, Nawada, Banka, Supaul, Kaimur, Jamui, Kishanganj, Jehanabad, Arwal and Sheohar. East Champaran has the highest number of constituencies at 12, followed by Gaya and Madhubani with 10 each.
Champaran has remained a reliable BJP stronghold since 2000, with the party capturing 15 of the 21 seats there in 2020. Its ally JD(U) won two, while the RJD and CPI(ML) took three and one respectively.
Seemanchal, covering Purnea, Araria, Kishanganj and Katihar, holds 24 seats and continues to draw attention due to its sizeable Muslim electorate. In 2020, the BJP won eight of these seats, JD(U) four, Congress five and the CPI(ML) and RJD one each. AIMIM caused a stir by taking five seats, though four of its legislators later defected to the RJD.
The NDA is campaigning on development, while the INDIA bloc has tried to mobilise younger voters by raising concerns over unemployment and social justice. Extremely Backward Classes, roughly 36 per cent of Bihar’s population, remain central to the contest. Their support has long underpinned Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s fortunes, although Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, has attempted to chip away at this base. The NDA is also appealing to non-Yadav OBCs to balance the RJD’s traditional Yadav support. Scheduled Caste voters are expected to influence tight races in the Ara, Buxar and Rohtas regions. Despite vigorous campaigning, the Muslim electorate has stayed largely silent in public.
Senior BJP figures, including Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, have addressed several rallies. Rahul Gandhi has led the Congress’s Voter Adhikar Yatra to energise the campaign.
Among the more closely watched constituencies are Chakai, where JD(U) minister Sumit Kumar Singh is seeking another term; Jamui, held by BJP MLA and Commonwealth shooting gold medallist Shreyasi Singh; Dhamdaha, contested by JD(U) minister Leshi Singh; and Chhatapur, where BJP minister Neeraj Kumar Singh is in the race. Other members of the Nitish Kumar cabinet fighting to retain their seats include Bijendra Yadav in Supaul, Jayant Raj in Amarpur, Nitish Mishra in Jhanjharpur, Renu Devi in Bettiah, Krishnanandan Paswan in Harsiddhi and Jama Khan in Chainpur. Jamui district is attracting particular interest, with high-profile contests in Jamui, Chakai, Jhajha and Sikandra
Prominent Mahagathbandhan contenders include former Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary of the RJD in Sikandra, Congress Legislature Party leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan in Kadwa, CPI(ML) leader Mehboob Alam, and State Congress president Rajesh Ram, who faces a high-stakes contest in Kutumba. The region will test the strength of both the BJP and the Grand Alliance, with Sikandra likely to see votes split among HAM, RJD, Congress and Jan Suraaj candidates. Katihar, where former deputy chief minister Tarkishore Prasad is running, is also drawing attention.
In Gaya district, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM won the Imamganj, Tikari and Barachatti seats in 2020. This year, his candidates face tougher competition. The BJP is contesting Gaya town, JD(U) Belaganj, Congress Wazirganj and LJP (Ram Vilas) Sherghati.
More than four lakh security personnel have been deployed for the second-phase vote on 11 November. Of these, around 1,00,000 are from Central Armed Police Forces.
Polling will take place at 45,399 booths, most of them in rural areas, across 122 constituencies.
The main contest pits the NDA, led by the BJP and JD(U), against the Mahagathbandhan, anchored by the RJD and Congress. Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party and Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM are also in the fray; AIMIM won five seats in Seemanchal in 2020, although four of its MLAs later shifted to the RJD.
