Eye on key battles as Bihar set for first phase polling

The stage is set for the crucial first phase of the assembly elections in Bihar on Thursday, as 37.5 million voters will decide the electoral fate of 1,314 candidates, including top leaders such as INDIA bloc’s chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary of the BJP.

- Press Trust of India

Yadav aims at a hat-trick in Raghopur, while his principal challenger Satish Kumar of the BJP had defeated his mother Rabri Devi in 2010 while contesting ona JD(U) symbol.

The seat was expected to witnessa high-voltage contest, with Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor declaring that he wanted to take on Yadav on his home turf-However, Kishor decided not to contest, and his party gave a ticket to a less fancied candidate Chanchal Singh.