"Vote for development": BJP's Kumhrar candidate Sanjay Gupta as first phase of Bihar elections underway

Patna (Bihar) [India], November 6 (ANI): BJP candidate from the Kumhrar assembly constituency and State BJP Secretary Sanjay Gupta on Thursday urged people to vote for development.
He said he stands with the voters and encouraged them to cast their votes enthusiastically to help build an ideal Kumhrar.
Speaking to ANI in Patna, Sanjay Gupta said, "I want to ask everyone to vote for development... I stand with you, and though I was not able to meet you during elections, but I will be with you in the coming days... Vote with complete enthusiasm so that we can make an ideal Kumhrar..."
In Kumhrar, the other candidates contesting are Indradeep Kumar Chandravanshi from Congress, Uma Kant Pathak from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Bablu Kumar from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Krishna Chandra Sinha from the Jan Suraaj Party.
Voting for the first phase of the Bihar elections 2025 is underway.
The first phase of the 2025 assembly elections in Bihar began today at 7:00 am across 121 constituencies in 18 districts of the state's 243 seats, with approximately 3.75 crore electors casting their ballot.
Polling will conclude at 6 pm, and due to security considerations, polling time has been curtailed to 5 pm in some constituencies.
The first phase will decide the fate of several senior leaders, including RJD's Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Mangal Pandey and JD(U)'s Shravan Kumar and Vijay Kumar Choudhary. Tej Pratap Yadav is also in the fray in the first phase.
Tejashwi Yadav, who is Mahagathbandhan's chief ministerial candidate, is in the fray from Raghopur. He has held the seat since 2015 and faces a tough challenge from BJP's Satish Kumar Yadav, who lost in the 2020 assembly elections.
Tejashwi Yadav's estranged brother, Tej Pratap Yadav, who floated a new party, Janshakti Janta Dal, after his exit from RJD, has fielded Prem Kumar for the seat. Jan Suraaj Party, led by Prashant Kishor, has fielded Chanchal Singh, and this could alter the dynamics in Raghopur.
Tej Pratap Yadav is in the fray from the Mahua constituency.
The Tarapur seat in the Munger district is witnessing a contest between Deputy Chief Minister and BJP's Samrat Choudhary, RJD's Arun Kumar and Jan Suraaj's Santosh Kumar Singh. The seat was won by the JD(U) candidates in the 2010 and 2015 polls.
Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha is contesting from the Lakhisarai seat. He is facing Congress' Amaresh Kumar and Jan Suraaj's Suraj Kumar.
The Mokama constituency has been in the headlines after the murder of Dularchand Yadav. Known for clashes between strongmen, or 'bahubalis', Mokama will witness a contest between JD(U) candidate Anant Kumar Singh, who has been arrested in the murder case, and Veena Devi, wife of former MP and influential leader Surajbhan Singh.
Patna Sahib has been a BJP stronghold, but Nand Kishore Yadav, the Speaker in the outgoing assembly, is not in the fray this time.
The contest for the seat is between relatively new faces. BJP has fielded Ratnesh Kumar, aka Ratnesh Khushwaha, and Congress has given a ticket to Shashant Shekhar.
In Darbhanga, the BJP has fielded folk singer Maithili Thakur, and she is contesting against 63-year-old RJD candidate Binod Mishra.
Maithili Thakur, 25, is the youngest candidate and would become the youngest MLA if elected. There are 122 women candidates in the fray in the first phase of polls.
Jan Suraj Party fielded 119 candidates in this phase. Within NDA, JD(U) is contesting 57 seats, followed by BJP on 48 and LJP (Ram Vilas) on 14.
Among the Mahagathbandhan constituents, RJD is contesting 73 seats in the first phase, followed by 24 from Congress and 14 from CPI(ML).
There will be a friendly fight for a few seats among Mahagathbandhan constituents. (ANI)