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Patna, Oct 20 (IANS) On the last day for withdrawal of nominations, 61 of the total candidates in the fray for the first phase of Bihar assembly elections withdrew their nominations on Monday, according to data released by the Election Commission.
According to official data, 1,690 candidates had filed their nominations for 121 constituencies in 18 districts for the first phase.
During scrutiny of papers, 315 nominations were found invalid due to various discrepancies, leaving 1,375 valid candidates in the fray.
After the withdrawal of nominations is over, the final number of candidates contesting in the first phase is 1,314.
District-wise analysis shows that the highest number of evacuations (9) came from Patna, followed by Darbhanga (8), Begusarai (7), and Gopalganj (6).
Apart from this, 5 candidates in Vaishali, 4 in Muzaffarpur, while 3 each in Siwan, Samastipur, Nalanda and Buxar withdrew their names.
2 evacuations each were reported from Madhepura, Khagaria and Munger, and one evacuation each from Saharsa, Saran, Sheikhpura and Bhojpur.
The nomination process for the first phase began on 10 October and ended on 17 October. Voting will take place on 6 November.
Meanwhile, the nomination process for 122 seats in 18 districts for the second phase ended at 5 pm on Monday.
Candidates can withdraw their nomination for this phase till 23 October.
The second phase of voting will be held on November 11 and the results will be declared on November 14.
The main contest in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections seems to be between the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan).
The NDA has already finalized its seat-sharing formula, in which Janata Dal (United) and Bharatiya Janata Party will contest on 101 seats each, while Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will contest on 29 seats. Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) will contest elections on 6 seats each.
–IANS
AJK/PGH