After the first phase of voting in the Bihar Assembly elections saw a turnout of 65.08%, the second and final phase will see 122 seats go to the polls on Tuesday.
In these 122 constituencies, which are mostly concentrated along Bihar’s borders with Nepal, West Bengal, and Jharkhand, the BJP was the leading party in the 2020 Assembly polls en route to a narrow NDA majority in the House.
The BJP had won 42 seats with a 21.61% vote share in the Phase 2 seats, with ally Janata Dal (United) 20 seats from 13.69% of the vote share. The Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), an NDA constituent led by Jitan Ram Manjhi, won four seats, taking the alliance total to 66.
On the Opposition Mahagathbandhan front, the RJD led with 33 seats and 22.43% of the vote share, which was the highest among the major parties. Allies Congress and CPI(M-L) Liberation won 11 and 5 seats, respectively. While the Congress managed a 11.22% vote share, the CPI(M-L) L hit 1.77%. The Mahagathbandhan collectively won 49 of the 122 Phase 2 seats in 2020.
Of the remaining seats, the AIMIM had won 5 seats in 2020, the BSP 1 and an Independent 1.
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In 2020, the NDA had secured a combined vote share of 40.3%, ahead of the Mahagathbandhan at 36.4%.
2020 results in Phase 2 seats
This time around, the BJP has fielded a candidate in 53 seats in Phase 2, followed by the JD(U) in 44 seats, the Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) in 15 seats, the HAM (S) in 6 seats, and the Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Morcha in 4 seats. Both the BJP and the JD(U) are contesting fewer seats than they did in 2020 on account of accommodating its allies in seat-sharing talks.
In the Mahagathandhan, the RJD is contesting the majority of the Phase 2 seats at 70, followed by the Congress in 37, Left parties in 11, and the Mukesh Sahani-led Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) at 7. However, in five seats that are voting in the second phase, the Mahagathbandhan parties are engaged in “friendly fights” after seat-sharing negotiations ended at an impasse.
An Assembly segment-level analysis of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls shows that the NDA had led in 79 segments among the 122 voting on Tuesday, while the Mahagathbandhan’s poor performance amounted to leads in 38 segments, with an Independent leading in 4 segments and the AIMIM in 2.
At stake in Phase 2
Seats: 122 – including 19 SC and 2 ST
Turnout in 2020: 58.64%
2020 seats and vote shares in Phase 2 seats
The candidates
Breakdown of Phase 2 candidates
Candidates with criminal cases
- Jan Suraaj: 58 candidates with criminal cases (50% of party’s Phase 2 candidates)
- RJD: 38 (54%)
- BJP: 30 (57%)
- JD(U): 14 (32%)
- Congress: 25 (68%)
- LJP(RV): 9 (60%)
- Left: 8 (73%)
341 or 26% of all candidates in Phase 2 face serious criminal cases, including murder and crimes against women
73 seats or 60% of those going to the polls in Phase 2 each have at least three candidates with criminal cases
At 8 each, the Sasaram, Kasba and Chenari seats have the most candidates with criminal cases
RJD’s Dewa Gupta, contesting Motihari, has the most pending cases at 28
Crorepati candidates
- Jan Suraaj: 86 crorepati candidates ( 74% of party’s Phase 2 candidates)
- RJD: 59 (84%)
- BJP: 44 (83%)
- JD(U): 40 (91%)
- Congress: 31 (84%)
- LJP(RV): 15 (100%)
- Left: 6 (55%)
Richest candidate: VIP’s Ran Kaushal Pratap Singh, contesting Lauriya, is the richest candidate in Phase 2 with assets worth Rs 369 crore
Poorest candidate: BSP’s Sunil Kumar Choudhary, contesting Pirpainti, has declared zero assets
Average assets of candidates
- LJP(RV): Rs 14.98 crore per candidate on average
- JD(U): Rs 9.18 crore
- Congress: Rs 7.41 crore
- RJD: Rs 6.49 crore
- BJP: Rs 6.4 crore
- Jan Suraaj: Rs 5.35 crore
- Left: Rs 2.37 crore
Oldest and youngest
Oldest: 88-year-old Rashtriya Jansambhavna Party candidate Bhagwan Mareya, contesting Dhamdaha
Youngest: 16 candidates are age 25, the youngest eligible age to contest elections. They are largely Independents or from smaller parties, and one each from the Pashupati Kumar Paras-led RLJP and AAP
The big contests
Bettiah | Former Deputy CM Renu Devi, BJP, vs party minority wing vice-president Washi Ahmad, Congress
Chainpur | State Minority Affairs Minister Md Zama Khan, JD(U), vs ex-state minister Brij Kishor Bind, RJD, vs Govind Vind, VIP
Chakai | State Science and Technology Minister Sumit Kumar Singh, JD(U), vs ex-Chakai MLA Savitri Devi, RJD
Chhatapur | State Public Health Engineering Minister Neeraj Kumar Singh, BJP, vs Vipin Kumar Singh, RJD
Dhamdaha | State Food and Consumer Protection Minister Leshi Singh, JD(U), vs former two-time MP Santosh Kumar, RJD
Jamui | Commonwealth Games medal-winning shooter Shreyasi Singh, BJP, vs Md Shamsad Alam, RJD
Jhanjharpur | State Industries Minister Nitish Mishra, BJP, vs Ram Narayan Yadav, CPI
Kargahar | Sitting MLA Santosh Kumar Mishra, Congress, vs Bhojpuri actor-singer Ritesh Pandey, Jan Suraaj, vs Mahendra Prasad Gupta, CPI
Katihar | Former Deputy CM Tarkishore Prasad, BJP, vs Saurav Kumar Agarwal, VIP
Motihari | Four-time sitting MLA Pramod Kumar, BJP, vs candidate with most criminal cases Dewa Gupta, RJD, vs Dr Atul Kumar, Jan Suraaj