Bihar elections: Parties leave no stone unturned as campaigning for first phase ends on Tuesday

Following the rallies, political leaders took to social media to hit out at each other as campaigning for the first phase of the Bihar assembly polls came to an end on Tuesday. With voting on 121 of 243 seats, more than 3.75 crore voters are going to cast their votes at 45,341 polling stations, and the fate of 1,314 candidates is at stake. 

On Tuesday, before the campaign concluded by 6 pm, both the NDA and the INDIA bloc leaders ensured reaching out to voters. The last day saw intense campaigning from leaders, including three rallies by Home Minister Amit Shah, five by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, two by BJP National President JP Nadda, and three by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also interacted virtually with state BJP women workers, while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Mahagathbandhan CM face Tejashwi Yadav addressed meetings. Tuesday's campaign was also joined by BJP bigwigs such as UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, and former Union Minister Smriti Irani. 

Who is pitted against whom in prominent seats? 

Major seats at stake include Raghopur, from where Tejashwi has been elected twice, and is hoping for a third run. Mahua, where Lalu Prasad Yadav's elder son and ex-minister Tej Pratap Yadav is contesting for the first time with his new party, and Tarapur, where Deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary is in the battle. 

Other prominent seats are Alinagar, where the BJP nominee, singer Maithili Thakur, is in the fray. Other Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha is trying to save his seat in Lakhisarai. JDU's Anant Kumar Singh, a don-turned politician, who was jailed over the murder of Jan Suraaj supporter Dular Chand Yadav, is contesting from Mokama.

Chhapra is expected to witness a dramatic fight between Bhojpuri film star Khesari Lal Yadav of RJD and Chhoti Kumar of BJP, who has emerged victorious from the seat thrice. 

Despite conducting roadshows and rallies, parties are also engaged in the tactics of silent "war rooms", with social media hubs established by the parties to reach out to voters; a major hub for interacting with youth and Gen-Z. This is boosting engagement with a blend of AI-based electoral profiling and old school management. 

BJP has Rohan Gupta, who is a seasoned strategist from the party's national IT cell, supported by over 150 volunteers. JDU has Mission 225, while RJD's war room is no behind.