Bihar Assembly Election 2020: What you need to know about Barh constituency

The Bihar assembly election gets underway today. For the first phase, 71 constituencies across 16 districts will go to polls. Barh, part of the Munger Lok Sabha constituency, is one of them and is located in the Patna district of the state.

It covers Bihari Bigha, Dhiwar, Goasa Shekhpura and Parsawan gram panchayats of Pandarak, Barh, Athmalgola and Belchhi.

This is the first mega state election to take place amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Election Commission has taken strict anti-Covid measures to prevent transmission of the virus during voting.

Full Coverage: Bihar Assembly Election 2020

The Barh seat is currently held by three-time winner Gyanendra Kumar Singh, alias Gyanoo, of the BJP. Singh will be facing Congress candidate Satyendra Bahadur.

In the 2015 Bihar assembly elections, there were 15 candidates in the fray and Gyanendra Kumar Singh had won the seat by defeating Manoj Kumar of the Janata Dal (United) by a margin of 8,359 votes.

In the 2010 assembly elections, Gyanedra Kumar Singh had contested from this very seat, but it was on the ticket of the JD (U). At the time, he had defeated RJD’s Vijay Krishna by a margin of 19,395 votes.

Similarly, in the 2005 assembly elections also Gyanendra Kumar Singh had contested elections from this seat on the JD (U) ticket and had emerged victorious. He had defeated Anil Kumar Singh of the RJD by a margin of 13,676 votes.

The JD (U) and BJP, along with other allies, are fighting the elections against the RJD-led grand alliance or mahagathbandhan. The Congress is the junior partner in the alliance. While Nitish Kumar is the NDA’s chief ministerial face, the RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav is the challenger to three-time chief minister.

Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party is going solo in this election.

The RLSP, BSP, AIMIM and others make up the other front in the elections. RLSP’s Upendra Kushwaha is the chief ministerial candidate of this alliance called the Grand Democratic Secular Front.

The next two phases of the polls will be held on November 3, and 7. The results will be declared on November 10.