Bihar might be on the cusp of a major generational shift in politics as it braces for Tuesday's counting of votes for the assembly election, with most pollsters predicting victory for the Grand Alliance led by young RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
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The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for counting of votes on November 10 for the Bihar assembly polls as the state awaits results of a closely-fought election.
Here are a few frequently asked questions answered:
When will the vote-counting start?
Bihar election's vote-counting to begin at 8 am on November 10 in 55 polling stations across 38 districts as per the Election Commission's Covid-19 guidelines.
How many Assembly seats does Bihar have?
The state has 243 assembly constituencies.
How many votes were recorded this Bihar Assembly election?
Bihar recorded 57.05 per cent turnout in the assembly elections this time, marginally higher than that of 2015 despite the Covid-19 pandemic, as per official data.
How many vote-counting stations are there in Bihar?
Owing to the restrictions due to Covid-19, the Election Commission of India extended the polling stations. The poll panel said it has set up a total of 55 counting centres, housing 414 halls, spread across all the 38 districts of the state that voted in three phases on October 28, November 3 and November 7.
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How many counting centres in one district?
Every district has a minimum of one counting centre and a maximum of three. Across 38 districts. Three centres placed in four districts of East Champaran (which has 12 assembly constituencies), Gaya (10 constituencies), Siwan (eight constituencies) and Begusarai (seven).
When will the results be announced?
The counting of votes is expected to be done by evening of November 10. However, the declaration of results had been stretched, in the past, onto the next day, due to delay in counting or other unforseen circumstances.
What did the exit polls predict?
Bihar polity seems to be on the cusp of a change if the prediction of exit polls comes true on the counting day with basic issues of jobs and health care seem to have tilted the balance in the favour of Mahagathbandhan. The Mahagathbandhan or the Grand Alliance is a coalition formed by the Tejashwi Yadav-led RJD and the Congress aloong with some Left parties.
Who are the key candidates?
Prominent candidates include Vijay Kumar Chaudhary of JD (U), Speaker of the outgoing assembly, famed for his ability to win over hostile opponents with a disarming smile, who seeks to do a hat-trick in Sarairanjan.
JD (U) ministers in the fray are Bijendra Prasad Yadav (Supaul), Narendra Narayan Yadav (Alamnagar), Maheshwar Hazari (Kalyanpur), Ramesh Rishideo (Singheshwar), Khurshid alias Firoz Ahmed (Sikta), Lakshmeshwar Roy (Laukaha), Bima Bharti (Rupauli) and Madan Sahni (Bahadurpur).
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Four ministers in the fray from the BJP are Pramod Kumar (Motihari), Suresh Sharma (Muzaffarpur), Binod Narayan Jha (Benipatti) and Krishnakumar Rishi (Banmankhi).
Besides, wife and daughter-in-law of recently deceased ministers Vinod Kumar Singh (BJP) and Kapil Deo Kamat (JDU) respectively are in the fray from the late legislatorss respective seats Pranpur and Babubarhi.
Another keenly watched candidate is Subhashini Yadav from Bihariganj whose father, veteran socialist leader and former Union minister Sharad Yadav, had been a multiple-term MP from Madhepura under which the assembly segment falls. She is contesting on a Congress ticket.