Patna: Amid fool proof security arrangements and all other required preparations to ensure smooth polling, more than 12.02 lakhs electorate are set to exercise their franchise in four assembly seats where voting began for by-election began at 7 AM on Wednesday, which would continue till 6 PM barring Naxalite affected areas where polling would come to an end at 4 PM due to security reasons.
Four assembly seats where polling is in progress are– Belaganj, Imamganj, Ramgarh and Tarari. Polling will continue till 6 PM barring naxalite affected areas in Imamganj where voting will end at 4 PM due to security reasons. Polling will however continue for full duration
till 6 PM at 29 booths in Imamganj while at other booths, it will be over two hours earlier.
Of the four seats, Tarari, Belaganj and Ramgarh are in kitty of Grand Alliance while Imamganj seat is in bag of NDA. Jan Suraaj founded by Prashant Kishor is new entrant in electoral politics in Bihar and has fielded its candidates in all four seats.
In Grand Alliance, RJD has fielded its candidates in Belaganj, Ramgarh and Imamganj while CPI(ML) has fielded its candidate in Tarari seat. In NDA, BJP has fielded its candidates in Ramgarh and Tarari while HAM and JD(U) has fielded its candidates in Imamganj and Belaganj respectively.
Electorate will seal the fates of 38 candidates including Ajit Kumar Singh, son of state RJD president Jagadanand Singh from Ramgarh, Vishwanath Kumar Singh, son of RJD MP Surendra Yadav from Belaganj and Deepa Manjhi from Imamganj, who is daughter-in-law of
HAM patron Jeetan Ram Manjhi, a Minister in Narendra Modi cabinet.
Vishal Prashant, son of Sunil Pandey, a muscleman and BJP leader who has been MLA for several terms, is also trying his luck on BJP ticket. JD(U) has fielded former MLC Manorama Devi from Belaganj. BJP has given its ticket to former MLA Ashok Kumar Singh from
Ramgarh seat.
Jeetan Ram Manjhi, sitting MLA of HAM from Imamganj, Surendra Yadav of RJD from Belaganj, Sudhakar Singh of RJD from Ramgarh and Sudama Prasad of CPI(ML) from Tarari got elected to Lok Sabha this year, necessitating by-elections in all these four assembly seats. More than 12.02 lakhs electorate are exercising their franchise at 1277 booths in four constituencies amid tight security arrangements. Results would be declared on November 23.
UNI KKS GNK
