High-Stakes Campaigning Concludes for Bihar's Critical Lok Sabha Seats

Campaigning ended for five Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, set to vote on May 20. Key contenders include Prime Minister Modi and leaders Rudy and Acharya. The NDA and opposition parties have fiercely rallied, setting the stage for an intense electoral battle in Saran, Muzaffarpur, Hajipur, Sitamarhi, and Madhubani.

Campaigning ended on Saturday for five Lok Sabha seats in Bihar which will go to polls in the fifth phase of elections on May 20.

Voting will take place in Saran, Muzaffarpur, Hajipur, Sitamarhi and Madhubani Lok Sabha seats on Monday when the electoral fate of 80 candidates will be decided.

Leading the NDA charge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held rallies at Hajipur, Saran and Muzaffarpur. While Hajipur is being contested by ally Chirag Paswan, BJP candidates are in the fray in the remaining two seats.

In Saran, former Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy's bid to score a hat-trick has been challenged by RJD president Lalu Prasad's daughter Rohini Acharya. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have campaigned in favour of Rudy.

In Muzaffarpur, where the BJP's decision to drop Ajay Nishad led the sitting MP to cross over to the Congress, debutant Raj Bhushan Chaudhary is banking heavily on the buzz generated by rallies of the PM and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. A few weeks ago, a rally was also held in the north Bihar constituency by BJP president J P Nadda.

Sitamarhi and Madhubani are both being contested by JD (U) of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar where the candidates received the support from the BJP in the form of rallies by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

From the opposition camp, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge flew down for a rally in Muzaffarpur in support of Nishad.

The principal opposition party in the state, the RJD, continued to witness a spirited campaign by young leader Tejashwi Yadav who ignored doctors' advice of bed rest and addressed rally after rally with a belt wrapped around his injured back.

Yadav's campaign in Saran for his elder sister got ample support from their father who canvassed, despite serious health problems, for the daughter who had saved his life by donating a kidney a year and a half ago.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)