Patna: Campaigning has ceased for the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections in Bihar. Voters in Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Saran, Hajipur, and Sitamarhi will head to the polls on May 20, with voting scheduled from 7 am to 6 pm. Preparations for the vote have been completed.
In this phase, the highest number of voters will be in the Hajipur reserved seat, where 1,972,915 people are eligible to vote. The Saran seat has the fewest voters, with 1,800,790 registered. In total, 9,572,186 voters will participate in this phase, comprising 4,999,627 men, 4,511,259 women, and 300 third-gender voters.
The fifth phase features some high-profile contests. Lalu Prasad’s daughter, Rohani, is contesting her first election on an RJD ticket in Saran. She faces two-time BJP MP and former Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
In Hajipur, RJD has fielded former minister Shivchandra Ram against Chirag Paswan, the national president of the LJP Ram Vilas Party and NDA candidate. Paswan is contesting to maintain his late father’s political legacy in this constituency.
In Sitamarhi, JD (U) leader Devesh Chandra Thakur, a close ally of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, faces former RJD MP Arjun Rai. In Madhubani, BJP MP Ashok Yadav is being challenged by RJD’s former Union Minister Mohammad Ali Ashraf Fatmi. Muzaffarpur will see a contest between BJP candidate Rajbhushan Nishad and former BJP MP Ajay Nishad, who is now running on a Congress ticket.
With campaigning over, the focus now shifts to election day, as voters prepare to cast their ballots and shape the future political landscape of Bihar.
