Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav’s political future will be decided today

Voting for the second and final phase of Bihar Assembly elections is underway on Tuesday morning amid tight security in 122 constituencies, an official said.

Voting for the second and final phase of Bihar Assembly elections is underway on Tuesday morning amid tight security in 122 constituencies, an official said. Voting began at 7 am and will continue until 5 pm.

This phase will decide the electoral fate of 1,302 candidates, including several ministers in the state government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. It is also being seen as a test of strength for smaller allies of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), led by Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), led by Rajya Sabha member Upendra Kushwaha.

Key Candidates and Seats
Former Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad (Katihar), former Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary (Sikandra), and several former ministers such as Vinay Bihari (Lauria), Narayan Prasad (Nautan), Shamim Ahmed (Narkatiya), Rana Randhir Singh (Madhuban), Pramod Kumar (Motihari), and Sunil Kumar Pintu (Sitamarhi) are in the fray for the second phase. Another notable candidate in the fray is senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi.

In addition, Kahalgaon, Narpatganj, Forbesgaon, Mokama, and Valmiki Nagar are among the constituencies to watch today.

Nearly 65% ​​Voter Turnout in the First Phase
The first phase of polling, held on November 6, saw 64.66% voter turnout, the highest ever in Bihar. This number comes after a special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, which reduced the number of voters in Bihar from 78.9 million to 74.2 million.

Following the final phase of voting, the much-awaited exit polls will also be announced today. Since voting ends at 5 p.m., exit poll predictions for Bihar’s next government are expected to begin around 6:30 p.m.

Due to regulations issued by the Election Commission of India, exit poll predictions have now been put on hold until voting concludes.

The high-stakes contest in Bihar will decide whether Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U)-BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will retain power or whether Tejashwi Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led India Bloc will succeed in ousting the nine-time Chief Minister.