The elections are a test of Modi’s popularity. We unpack the voter turnout, key candidates, issues and when we can expect the results.
Millions of voters in India’s third most populous state, Bihar, are voting on Thursday in the first phase of elections that could not only shape the state’s future but also serve as a bellwether for the broader mood of the nation, 17 months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to power in New Delhi with a diminished mandate.
The elections for the Bihar Legislative Assembly will determine who governs Bihar for the next five years. The state is India’s poorest. But its 130 million people – more than any European nation – give Bihar hefty political clout.
Roughly half of Bihar’s constituencies vote on Thursday. The second phase of the elections will be held next week.
Here is what’s at stake.
Which constituencies are voting in phase one in Bihar?
Bihar has 243 assembly constituencies, 121 of which are up for voting on Thursday. Some of these constituencies are reserved for members of the Scheduled Castes (SC), communities that have been historically marginalised.
The Legislative Assembly, or the Vidhan Sabha, is the lower house of the bicameral Bihar Legislature.
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