Patna: Friday marked the end of the nomination period for the initial phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, setting the stage for contests in nearly half of the state’s constituencies. The final day saw a cascade of filings by candidates across the political spectrum.
Key candidates who filed their papers include:
- Mangal Pandey: The sitting Health Minister filed his nomination from the Siwan constituency.
- Maithili Thakur: The acclaimed folk singer is contesting from Alinagar on a BJP ticket.
- Khesari Lal Yadav: The popular folk singer and actor filed his papers from Chapra.
- Deepa Manjhi: Daughter-in-law of Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, she is contesting from Imamganj.
Among the Congress candidates who filed were Rishi Mishra, grandson of late Lalit Narayan Mishra, from Jale; Amit Kumar Singh alias Tunna from Riga; former DGP of Tamil Nadu VK Ravi from Rosera (SC); and Bijendra Chaudhary from Muzaffarpur.
The Grand Alliance partners also finalized their candidates, with the CPI fielding Mohit Paswan from Rajapakad (SC), and the CPI(M) seeing MLA Satyendra Yadav file from Manjhi and Shyama Bharti from Hayaghat.
Election Commission Updates and Deadlines
As of 7 p.m. on Friday, the Election Commission reported that a total of 1,198 nomination papers have been filed for the 121 seats going to polls in the first phase. The commission also noted that the process has already begun for the 122 assembly constituencies across 20 districts slated for the second phase.
The immediate electoral schedule is as follows:
- Scrutiny of Nomination Papers (Phase 1): October 18th
- Last Date for Withdrawal of Nominations (Phase 1): October 20th
District-Wise Nomination Volume
The filing activity was heaviest in certain districts. In Vaishali, constituencies such as Hajipur (21 nominations), Mahnar (20), and Mahua (19) saw high applicant numbers.
Other significant figures reported across districts:
| District | Constituency | Nominations Filed |
|---|---|---|
| Saran | Manjhi | 15 |
| Chapra | 16 | |
| Samastipur | Warisnagar | 16 |
| Ujiarpur | 17 | |
| Begusarai | Begusarai | 17 |
| Saharsa | Simri Bakhtiyarpur | 17 |
| Muzaffarpur | Barauli | 18 |
The conclusion of the nomination process marks the official commencement of campaigning across these key constituencies, leading up to the voting date.
