The Campaign: Bihar phase II polls

23.10.2010 09:07:25 Nksagar-Sagar Media Inc :
The arrangements are in place for the 2nd phase of Assembly elections in Bihar on Sunday. Fourty five constituencies spread over six districts of Muzaffarpur, East Champaran, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Darbhanga and Samastipur will go to polls in this phase. Most of the constituencies are Naxal affected.
Campaigning ended today for the 45 constituencies figuring in the second phase of Assembly elections in Bihar on 24th October.

(live-PR.com) - Out of 10,315 polling stations, 3, 784 polling stations are supersensitive. In Muzaffarpur district Minapur, Paroo and Sahebganj constituencies are Naxal affected. Polling will be here upto 3 p.m. In other constituencies polling will be from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Director General of police Neelmani said jawans of Central Para-Military Forces were being deployed on all booths to ensure


free and fair polls. State's border with Nepal has already been sealed to prevent any infiltration of anti social elements.He said jawans of Special task Force would also keep air surveillance from two helicopters to ensure trouble free polls.

Meanwhile, Chief Electoral officer Sudhir Kumar Rakesh has appealed people of the state need not to be scared and come from their houses in large numbers on Sunday to exercise their right of franchise without any apprehension.

Rakesh said an elaborate arrangements had been made for the poll. Over 98 lakhs electorates will decide the electoral fate of 623 candidates including 46 women.
Political bigwigs include state RJD Chief Abdul Bari Siddiqui his Jantal Dal ( United ) counterpart Vijay Kumar Chaudhary . Congress legislature Party leader Ashok Kumar is facing challenge from LJP candidate Ramchandra Paswan in Kusweshwarsthan constituency.

Three ministers Sahid Ali Khan, Dinesh Prasad and Ramnath Thakur are also in the contest.
The Congress and BSP are contesting all seats. The ruling JD ( U) is contesting 28 seats and its ally BJP 17. The RJD is in the fray in 34 Assembly constituencies and its ally LJP in 11.The CPI and CPM have put up eight candidates each while CPI (ML) is contesting in 11 seats.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, senior BJP leaders, L K Advani, Nitin Gadkari, M Venkaiah Naidu, Ravishankar Prasad and BSP supremo Mayawati were the star campaigners.

Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi directed their criticism at Nitish Kumar for not properly utilising central funds and also questioned his secular credentials.

The Congress president attacked the chief minister for presenting a secular image of his government while allying with the BJP which was 'dead opposed to secularism'.

Kumar, the star campaigner of the NDA, rubbished their charges and accused the Congress of being hand in glove with the RJD and claimed that they would team up after the elections
.RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his LJP counterpart with their sons Tejaswi and Chirag, respectively, charged the Nitish Kumar government with being an utter failure on all fronts.CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat, his CPI counterpart A B Bardhan, besides CPI-ML (Liberation)'s Dipankar Bhattacharya campaigned for Left nominees.