Bihar Election 2020: From Anant Singh to Jitan Ram Manjhi, a List of Key Candidates in Phase 1 of Polls

As Bihar goes for the first phase of assembly polls on Wednesday, several key candidates are contesting on the 71 seats.

Among the key constituencies that go for polls today are Imamganj, Sasaram, Dinara, Gaya, Munger, Jamui, Mokama, Jamalpur, Chainpur and Buxar. Key candidates including- Jitan Ram Manjhi, Commonwealth shooter Shreyasi Singh, Prem Kumar, Jai Kumar Singh and Anant Kumar Singh of RJD will test their ground in Bihar. In Mokama the local strongman and MLA Anant Singh is contesting on an RJD ticket. From 2005 to 2010, Singh won the seat as a JD(U) candidate. In 2015, after JD(U) denied him a ticket, he won as an Independent. The Mokama Assembly seat, dominated by Bhumihaar and Yadavs, has seen only local strongmen as its MLAs. In 90’s Singh’s brother Dilip became a legislator from here on a Janata Dal ticket. Since then, Singh has won this seat four times.

The Hindustani Awam Morcha party head Jitan Ram Manjhi is contesting from Imamganj against RJD candidate Uday Narayan Choudhary, former Bihar Assembly Speaker and veteran Dalit leader. Manjhi is the lone member of his party in the assembly. Manjhi had quit the JD(U) in 2015 after being forced to step down as the chief minister to make way for the return of Kumar. He later formed the HAM(S) and contested 21 seats in the 2015 Bihar assembly elections as an NDA constituent. With the return of Kumar to the NDA in July 2017, he walked out of it to join hands with the opposition grouping.