Bihar elections 2020: Here are the key electoral battles to watch out for in Phase 1

The Bihar Assembly election will be conducted in three phases with the counting of votes scheduled for November 10. The Mahagatbandhan comprising RJD, Congress, CPI(M-L), CPI, and CPM is perceived as the principal challenger to the ruling NDA alliance consisting of BJP, JD(U), VIP, and HAM(S). Some of the other alliances in the fray include the 'Progressive Democratic Alliance' who has projected Jan Adhikar Party chief Pappu Yadav as the CM face and the 'United Democratic Secular Alliance' with former Upendra Kushwaha as the CM candidate. 71 constituencies are going to the polls in the first phase of the Bihar polls on October 28.

Read: Bihar Polls: Sonia Gandhi Confident Of Mahagatbandhan Win, Slams 'arrogant' NDA Government

Here are the key fights to watch out for:

1. Banka: Ram Narayan Mandal (BJP) vs Javed Iqbal Ansari (RJD)

Situated at the southeast end of Bihar, the Banka constituency witnessed the victory of BJP's Ram Narayan Mandal in the 2015 Assembly election defeating RJD's Zafrul Hoda by 3730 votes. BJP has once again nominated Mandal, who is serving as the Revenue and Land Reforms Minister in the Bihar Cabinet, from this seat. In this election, RJD has fielded Javed Iqbal Ansari, former Minister and MLA from this constituency. Besides this, Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Samta Party has given the ticket to Kaushal Kumar Singh. 

2. Chainpur: Brij Kishor Bind (BJP) vs Prakash Kumar Singh (Congress)

Another stronghold of BJP, Chainpur is a rural Assembly seat that has been represented by BJP's Brij Kishor Bind. The Bihar Mines and Geology Minister who has been an MLA from this constituency since 2009 has been fielded by BJP once again. BSP's Mohammad Zama Khan had caused a major upset in the 2015 polls as Bind managed to scrape through by just 671 votes. Khan is again contesting as a BSP candidate while Congress has given the ticket to Prakash Kumar Singh. The last occasion on which Congress won this seat was in 1985. 

3. Dinara: Jai Kumar Singh [JD(U)] vs Vijay Kumar Mandal (RJD)

In Dinara, sitting Bihar Science and Technology Minister Jai Kumar Singh is pitted against Vijay Kumar Mandal of RJD. However, LJP's candidate Rajendra Prasad Singh can play a crucial role in deciding the fortunes of the JD(U) candidate because he was the runner-up in the 2015 election with over 62,000 votes. As a BJP candidate, he lost to the Minister by a very thin margin of over 2,500 votes. As the seat remained with JD(U) as per the NDA's seat-sharing formula, Rajendra Prasad Singh switched over to LJP. Additionally, the RLSP has fielded Rajesh Singh. 

4. Gaya Town: Prem Kumar (BJP) vs Akhauri Onkar Nath (Congress)

The Gaya Town constituency will see a face-off between BJP's Prem Kumar and Akhauri Onkar Nath of the Congress party. In the 2015 Bihar Assembly polls, Kumar won the seat comfortably against Congress' Priya Ranjan. At present, he is also in charge of the Agriculture and Animal and Fisheries Resources portfolios in the NDA government. Randhir Kumar Keshri of the RLSP is another key contender for this seat.

5. Imamganj: Jitan Ram Manjhi [HAM(S)] vs Uday Narain Choudhary (RJD)

Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) is again contesting from the Imamganj constituency. JD(U)'s Uday Narain Choudhary had won this seat 4 times before losing to Manjhi in the 2015 election by 29,408 votes. While Choudhary is contesting on an RJD ticket this time, it is pertinent to note that RJD has not won Imamganj since 2000. The other main candidates are Jitendra Kumar Paswan of RLSP and LJP's Shobha Sinha. 

6. Jamalpur: Shailesh Kumar [JD(U)] vs Ajay Kumar Singh (Congress)

Shailesh Kumar, the Bihar Rural Works Minister will be vying to win the Jamalpur seat for the third time in a row. He had defeated LJP's Himanshu Kunvar by a margin of 15,476 votes in the previous state election. This time, he is pitted against Mahagatbandhan's Ajay Kumar Singh who is contesting on a Congress ticket. The other key candidates are Durgesh Kumar Singh of LJP and Subodh Tanti of BSP.

7. Jamui: Vijay Prakash (RJD) vs Shreyasi Singh (BJP)

The Jamui seat is set to witness a high-octane battle between RJD's sitting MLA Vijay Prakash and BJP's Shreyasi Singh. The daughter of the late Digvijay Singh, Shreyasi is a professional shooter who has won both the silver and gold medals for India in the Commonwealth Games. During the 2015 Assembly election, Prakash- the younger son of former MoS Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav defeated BJP's Ajay Pratap by 8,249 votes. Pratap is contesting the polls on an RLSP ticket this time. Meanwhile, LJP has not fielded any candidate from this seat and extended full support to Shreyasi Singh. 

8. Jehanabad: Kumar Krishna Mohan (RJD) vs Krishna Nandan Prasad Verma [JD(U)] 

The Jehanabad seat in central Bihar is represented by RJD's Kumar Krishna Mohan alias Suday Yadav. He faces a challenge from state Education Minister and JD(U) leader Krishna Nandan Prasad Verma who shifted from the neighbouring Ghosi seat. Mohan had won from this constituency in a 2018 by-election necessitated by the demise of RJD's Mundrika Singh Yadav. The latter had defeated RLSP's Praveen Kumar by 30,321 votes in the 2015 Bihar polls. BJP-turned-LJP leader Indu Devi Kashyap is another important candidate for the seat. 

9. Rajpur: Santosh Kumar Nirala [JD(U)] vs Vishwanath Ram (Congress)

Bihar Transport Minister and JD(U) leader Santosh Kumar Nirala is eyeing a third consecutive term from the Rajpur constituency. JD(U) has won this seat since 2005 increasing its victory margin with every election. In the last Assembly polls, Nirala handed over a resounding defeat to the BJP candidate. Congress has fielded Vishwanath Ram to take on the Minister while LJP has given the election ticket to Nirbhay Kumar Nirala. 

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