1,302 candidates in fray as Bihar gears up for 2nd phase of assembly polls

The second phase of polling for the Bihar Assembly elections is set to take place on Tuesday, 11 November, with 1,302 candidates contesting across 122 constituencies.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the upcoming phase will witness 1,165 male candidates, 136 female candidates, and one contestant from the third gender category.

The principal battle remains between the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Grand Alliance, though parties such as the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Jan Suraj Party are also in contention in select constituencies.

Of the 122 seats up for polling, 101 are general seats, 19 are reserved for Scheduled Castes, and two for Scheduled Tribes. The ECI has assured that all arrangements have been completed to ensure peaceful and orderly voting across the state.

In total, 3,70,13,556 voters are eligible to cast their ballots in this phase, including 10,21,812 new electors. Among them, 1,95,56,899 are male voters (including 5,28,954 newly registered), while 1,70,68,572 are female voters (with 4,92,839 newly added). The number of registered voters from the third gender stands at 943, with 90 of them newly enrolled.

Notably, 7,69,356 first-time voters fall within the 18–19 age group. To facilitate polling, the ECI has set up 45,399 polling stations — 5,326 in urban areas and 40,073 in rural regions.

Of these, 595 polling stations will be entirely managed by women, 91 by persons with disabilities (PwD), and 316 have been designated as model polling stations. The Commission has also confirmed that all polling stations will be equipped with webcasting facilities for enhanced transparency and monitoring.

The average number of electors per polling station stands at 815. Voting in this phase will cover 20 districts, including West Champaran, East Champaran, Supaul, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Araria, Purnea, Kishanganj, Katihar, Banka, Bhagalpur, Nawada, Jamui, Aurangabad, Gaya, Rohtas, Kaimur, Jehanabad, and Arwal.

Polling begins at 7 a.m. on Tuesday and is expected to see tight security and high voter participation as Bihar moves deeper into its multi-phase electoral process.

With IANS inputs