Bihar Lok Sabha Election Phase 3: Key constituencies and candidates

In Bihar, which has 40 Lok Sabha seats, polling has been conducted for 9 seats.

Five seats in Bihar will vote on May 7 in the third phase of the Lok Sabha election. The state with its 40 seats began voting on April 19.

Main parties contesting include the NDA alliance, with BJP and JD(U) re-uniting and the Mahagathbandhan alliance which includes RJD and Congress among others.

Here are the key seats and candidates to watch out for.

Madhepura:  Lying in the flood-prone Kosi River Valley, this seat has traditional been a Yadav stronghold. Bindeshwari Prasad Mandal, who chaired the Second Backward Class Commission or Mandal Commission, won the seat in 1968 and 1977. Former Union minister Sharad Yadav, former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad and Pappu (Rajesh Ranjan) Yadav have represented this seat.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the RJD-led grand alliance fielded Kumar Chandradeep Yadav, an English professor in a Patna college. He is the son of former Madhepura MP Ramendra Kumar Yadav, who won from the seat on a Janata Dal ticket in 1989. The main contest is between the JDU leader and incumbent MP, Dinesh Chandra Yadav, and RJD’s Kumar Chandradeep. Dinesh Chandra Yadav had won from the seat in the 2019 election by securing a total of 6,24,334 votes.

Araria: Pradeep Kumar Singh from BJP and Mohammed Shahnawaz Alam from RJD are the key candidates in fray from the Araria constituency. In the 2019 election, Pradeep Singh, who was BJP's candidate, secured 6,18,434 votes, outpacing his closest competition, Sarfaraz Alam from RJD. Sarfaraz, meanwhile, bagged 4,81,193 votes.

Jhanjharpur: Once a Congress stronghold, this seat is witnessing a direct contest between Suman Kumar Mahaseth (Vikassheel Insaan Party) and Ramprit Mandal (JDU-NDA). The constituency has favoured the BJP and JDU in the last three Lok Sabha elections. Birendra Chaudhary of BJP managed to win in 2014 despite JDU not being part of the NDA.

In Supaul, Chandrahas Chaupal of RJD and Dileshwar Kamait of JDU will lock horns. Meanwhile, Rajesh Verma of LJP is up against Sanjay Kumar of CPI(M) in Khagaria.

The counting of votes will be held on June 4.