Bihar Elections 2020 LIVE Updates: Voting for 2nd phase concludes; turnout at 54.05%

As per the Election Commission, 54.05% of registered voters cast their votes in the second phase of the Bihar polls. In comparison, the same districts which went to the polls in the 2015 Assembly election witnessed a voter turnout of 56.17%. 

In his last election rally in Bihar, PM Modi takes on Congress & 'Tukde gang'

Accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case, Nitish Kumar's JDU has given ticket to former minister Manju Verma from Cheria Bariarpur constituency in Begusarai. Verma had resigned as minister for social welfare in August 2018 and spent six months in jail. She has won the seat for two terms. She is pitted against RJD's Rajvanshi Mahto, LJP's Rakhi Devi and RLSP's Sudarshan Singh. About 17 candidates are in fray.

After a CBI probe, a Delhi court convicted the guilty in February this year, but neither Manju nor Chandrashekhar was even mentioned in the charge sheet. In May 2018, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) submitted a report to the Bihar government highlighting the alleged sexual abuse of 34 minor girls in the shelter home. The shelter home was funded by Verma's department and her husband Chandrashekhar Verma had close ties with Brajesh Thakur, owner of a newspaper who ran the shelter home. 

A jailed politician who faces 33 criminal cases of murder, extortion and money laundering is RJD's candidate from Danapur Assembly seat. Ritlal Yadav is an accused in the murder of former BJP leader Satyanarayan Sinha. Ritlal is pitted against sitting BJP MLA Asha Singh, widow of Satyanarayan Sinha, who has won the seat for the last three terms. 

Congress' poll debutant Luv Sinha - son of actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha faces a formidable battle with four-time sitting BJP MLA Nitin Nabin. Other candidates in the fray are the Plurals Party chief Pushpam Priya Chaudhary, independent candidate and Oxford University academician Manish Barriarr. The Bankipur assembly which comes within the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha constituency, has over 25 percent upper caste Kayastha voters - making it a BJP stronghold. In 2015, Nabin defeated Kumar Ashish from the Congress party with a margin of around 39,000 votes.

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Wife of slain journalist Rajdeo Ranjan, Asha Ranjan has filed her nomination on the ticket of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) from Siwan's Sadar constituency. Rajdeo Ranjan was allegedly killed by an aide of jailed Bahubali Mohamad Shahabbudin on May 13, 2016 on station road in Siwan. BJP has given the ticket to ex MP Om Prakash Yadav instead of sitting MLA Vyas Dev Yadav after which he filed the nomination as an Independent candidate while the RJD has given the ticket to ex MLA Awadh Bihari Chaudhary.

After casting vote, Shahabbudin's wife said that Jungle raj is not an issue at all and Tejashwi has full support of Shahabbudin and his followers. The RJD has dropped jailed party strongman and former MP Mohammad Shahabuddin from its national executive committee. However, it has accommodated Shahabuddin’s wife Hina Shahab in the 45-member committee. 

(inputs from agencies)

Tejashwi Yadav is contesting from Raghupur (Raghopur) assembly segment in Vaishali district  - which is a part of the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat. The 31-year-old Tejashwi, had made an electoral debut from Raghopur in 2015. He won the election and went on to become the deputy to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whom he would call “chacha” (uncle) then., but in the 2020 elections, he has claimed Nitish to be a scamster and opportunist and is challenging him for the top post. 
 

Tejashwi's main rival is BJP's Satish Kumar, who had defeated Rabri Devi in 2010 state election.

Kumar, however, had lost to Tejashwi in 2015, when Nitish was part of Mahagathbandhan and BJP had gone solo. The Chirag Paswan-headed Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) has fielded Rakesh Roshan to make the contest triangular. Tejashwi and Satish Kumar are among 12 candidates in the fray from Raghopur seat.
 

Though the seat is Yadav-dominated,  and Lalu Yadav had won in 1995, 2000, and his wife Rabri Devi in 2005, Tejashwi has not been able to campaign on a daily basis in the constituency, while his opponent is canvassing for votes daily.  LJP's Rakesh Roshan is also active, but the BJP nominee has claimed that he is not getting the support of even Paswans, traditionally an LJP support base. As per census data, 1.30 lakh Yadavs form the bulk of the voters, the constituency has a significant presence of upper-caste Rajputs, whose electorate size is estimated at around 40,000 followed by Muslims at 22,000 and Paswans at 18,000.

LJP's Manoj Kumar Singh at Raghunathpur constituency said, "CM Nitish Kumar is Kursi Kumar. He will not be the CM. BJP an dLJP will together form the government. Chirag Paswan is the only Chirag for Bihar and in future he will be the CM."

Chirag Paswan exercises his franchise in the second phase of Bihar polls. He said, "All poll phases are important. It is right of public to choose their future. Any mistake will lead to waste of 5 year."

Bihar elections 2020 LIVE Updates: Governor Phagu Chauhan after casting vote says, "I appeal to the people to participate in election in large numbers. I hope that voting percentage will be more than previous time."

Polling in 71 seats in the first phase of Bihar assembly elections was completed on October 28, with voter turnout at 54.26 per cent. The other two phases of the Bihar election are on November 3 and November 7, and the results will be announced on November 10. 

Incumbent Nitish Kumar is seeking reelection and is the CM face for the NDA. Mahagathbandhan has chosen Tejashwi Yadav as their CM face. The BJP is contesting on a seat-sharing formula of 121-122 seats with the JDU and Mukesh Sahni of Vikasheel Insaan party and Jitan Ram Manjhi of HAM(S), while LJP will contest solo. Mahagathbandhan comprising of Congress and three left parties have are contesting on seat-sharing formula of 144-70-29 seats respectively. 

There are two other alliances in the fray - Owaisi's AIMIM has stitched an alliance with Upendra Kushwaha-led RLSP, Mayawati's BSP, Devendra Yadav's SJDD, and SBSP called 'Grand Democratic Secular Front'. The alliance has fielded Kushwaha as the chief ministerial face. Another alliance named 'Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA)', consist of Pappu Yadav's Jan Adhikar Party (JAP), Chandrashekhar Azad's Azad Samaj Party, MK Faizi's Social Democratic Party and Bahujan Mukti Party. They have made Pappu Yadav their CM face.

In the second phase of Bihar elections, 94 constituencies are going to poll. They are in 17 districts namely: West Champaran, East Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Vaishali, Samastipur, Begusarai, Khagaria, Bhagalpur, Nalanda and Patna.

The Assembly constituencies that will be voting in the 2nd phase of Bihar polls: 

1. Nautan
2. Chanpatia
3. Bettiah
4. Harsidhi (SC)
5. Govindganj
6. Kesaria
7. Kalyanpur
8. Pipra
9. 18- Madhuban
10. Sheohar
11. Runnisaidpur
12. Belsand
13. Madhubani
14. Rajnagar (SC)
15. Jhanjharpur
16. Phulparas
17. Kusheshwar Asthan (SC)
18. Gaura Bauram
19. Benipur
20. Alinagar
21. Darbhanga Rural
22. Minapur
23. Kanti
24. Baruraj
25.  Paroo
26. Sahebganj
27.  Baikunthpur
28. Barauli
29. Gopalganj
30. Kuchaikote
31. Bhore (SC)
32. Hathua
33. Siwan
34. Ziradei
35. Darauli
36. Raghunathpur
37. Daraunda
38. Barharia
39. Goriakothi
40. Maharajganj
41. Ekma
42. Manjhi
43. Baniapur
44. Taraiya
45. Marhaura
46. Chapra
47. Garkha (SC)
48. Amnour
49. Parsa
50. Sonepur
51. Hajipur
52.  Lalganj
53. Vaishali
54. Raja Pakar (SC)
55. Raghopur
56. Mahnar
57. Ujiarpur
58. Mohiuddinnagar
59. Bibhutipur
60. Rosera (SC)
61. Hasanpur
62. Cheria-Bariarpur
63. Bachhwara
64. Teghra
65. Matihani
66. Sahebpur Kamal
67. Begusarai
68. Bakhri (SC)
69. Alauli (SC)
70. Khagaria
71. Beldaur
72. Parbatta
73. Bihpur
74. Gopalpur
75. Pirpainti (SC)
76. Bhagalpur
77.  Nathnagar
78. Asthawan
79. Biharsharif
80. Rajgir (SC)
81. Islampur
82. Hilsa
83. Nalanda
84. Harnaut
85. Bakhtiarpur
86. Digha
87. Bankipur
88. Kumhrar
89. Patna Sahib
90. Fatuha
91. Danapur
92. Maner
93. Phulwari (SC)

According to the Election Commission, more than 2.85 crore voters will decide the electoral fate of 1,463 candidates -- 1316 male, 146 female and one transgender. Of the total 2,85,50,285 voters 1,50,33,034 are male, 1,35,16,271 female and 980 transgender, as per the poll panel data. The Election Commission said it has set up a total of 41,362 booths at 18,823 polling stations. Maharajganj constituency has the maximum 27 candidates in this phase, while the minimum four are from Darauli constituency (SC). 

Voting will begin at 7 am on November 3 and counting of votes will take place on November 10.

The BJP's charge was led by Prime Minister Modi, who addressed seven rallies over two days, including the four on Sunday. Several Union ministers including Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, Giriraj Singh and Anurag Thakur, besides senior party leaders such as BJP chief J P Nadda addressed campaign rallies.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed two rallies for this phase of elections and Mahagathbandhan CM candidate Tejashwi, scaled up the intensity of his campaign and addressed close to a dozen, or even more, rallies every day since the voting for phase 1 of election on October 28.

Among other prominent faces whose fate would be closed in EVMs in this phase are: BJP leader and Road Construction Minister Nand Kishore Yadav (Patna Sahib), JD(U) lawmaker and Rural Development Minister Shrawan Kumar (Nalanda), BJP MLA and Cooperative Minister Rana Randhir Singh (Madhuban), and JD(U) leader and state minister Ramsevak Singh (Hathua). Also in the fray is Chandrika Roy (JDU), the father of Tej Pratap Yadavs estranged wife Aishwarya Rai, who in her campaign has been highlighting the alleged "ill-treatment" meted out to her by RJD chief Lalu Prasad's family. Haranut (Nalanda) constituency, which houses Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's village, is also going to vote in this phase.

The RJD has 56 candidates in the fray this phase, the BJP 46, the JD(U) 43, the RLSP 36 and the Congress 24. This phase is also very crucial for Chirag Paswan- led Lok Janshakti Party which has fielded 52 candidates.