The five-phase Bihar Assembly election 2015 is all set to begin on 12 October. The polling concludes on 5 November, while the counting of votes will be done on 8 November.
This election the BJP-led NDA (National Democratic Alliance) is competing against the ruling Janata Dal United-led Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan) as Nitish Kumar aspires to retain the chief minister's chair.
In the first phase, there will be polling in 49 seats from south-eastern Bihar out of the total 243 constituencies.
Party-wise candidates
The highest number of candidates in the first phase are fielded by Bahujan Samaj Party, which is contesting at 41 seats, followed by Bharatiya Janata Party (27), Communist Party of India (25) and Janata Dal United (24). Other major players include Rashtriya Janata Dal (17) and Lok Janshakti Party (13).
Interesting Facts
Largest constituency - Lakhisarai
Smallest constituency - Barbigha
Constituency with maximum no of candidates - Morwa, Mohiuddinagar
Constituency with minimum no of candidates - Warsaliganj
First Phase Polling in Figures
| Number of seats | 49 |
| Total number of voters | 1.35 crore (1,35,72,339) |
| Male voters | 72.37 lakh (72,37,253) |
| Female voters | 63.17 lakh (63,17,602) |
| Third Gender voters | 405 |
| Service voters | 17,079 |
| Polling Stations | 13,212 |
| Candidates in Fray | 583 |
| Women Candidates | 54 |
Bihar polls 2010 outcome
The JDU had won the largest number of seats in the 2010 election among the seats going to polls in the first phase. The ruling party holds 29 seats out of the 49, followed by the BJP (13), RJD (four) and one each by the Congress, CPI and the JMM.
[Also read: NDA seat sharing: Complete list of BJP, LJP, HAM, RLSP candidates]
Criminal Charges
A total number of 130 candidates contesting in the first phase have serious criminal charges against them. Of these, 16 candidates face murder charges, while 37 are slapped with charges of attempt to murder.
As per reports, 23 NDA candidates and 18 Mahagathbandhan candidates have criminal cases pending against them.
Narendra Kumar, who is the JDU candidate from Matihani, has been charged in 15 cases alone. The JDU candidate from Warsaliganj, Pradeep Kumar, is accused in four murder cases, while Hisua constituency's independent candidate Ramswarup Yadav has five attempt to murder cases registered against him.
How rich are the candidates
A survey report states that on an average each candidate contesting in the first phase is worth Rs 1.44 crore. The JDU (19) has the largest number of crorepati candidates, followed by the BJP (18) and RJD (11 candidates).
