The stage has been set for the second phase of Bihar Assembly Elections on Tuesday. It is considered as the most crucial phase of the elections with 1,463 candidates in the fray contesting for 94 seats where 2,86,11,164 electorate would be exercising their voting rights at 41,362 polling stations amid tight security arrangements.

With the exception of three districts — Patna, Bhagalpur, and Nalanda — the other districts heading to polls on Tuesday are situated north of the Ganga river. The districts in which polls will be held in the second phase are West Champaran, East Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Vaishali, Samastipur, Begusarai, Khagaria, Bhagalpur, Nalanda, and Patna.

Out of the total 1,463 candidates in the second phase, 1,316 are men, 146 are women and one is transgender. The Election Commission has said voting will begin as usual at 7 am in Bihar but the period will be extended by one hour until 6 pm, except in the Left Wing Extremism affected areas, so that COVID-19 patients can vote in the last hour of the day. Chief Electoral Officer HR Srinivasa said that polling in eight Naxal-affected constituencies including Raghopur, Paru, Minapur, and Alauli will be held only till 4 pm.