A Tight Race in Bihar
Aurangabad, one of the 40 parliamentary constituencies in Bihar, will go to the polls on April 19 in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The seat is witnessing a close contest between three major candidates.
The incumbent BJP MP, Sushil Kumar Singh, is seeking re-election. He faces a strong challenge from Abhay Kumar Kushwaha, the Mahagathbandhan candidate fielded by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has also fielded a candidate, Sunesh Kumar.
Kushwaha, a former JD(U) MLA, switched allegiance to the RJD and secured the party's nomination for the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat. In the 2019 elections, Singh won the seat with 431,541 votes and 45.8% of the vote share. Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader Upendra Prasad came second with 358,934 votes and 38.1% of the vote share.
The Mahagathbandhan, comprising the RJD, Congress, and Left parties, has announced that the RJD will contest 26 out of Bihar's 40 Lok Sabha seats. The NDA, comprising the BJP, JD(U), and LJP, has also announced a seat-sharing agreement. The BJP will contest 17 seats, while the JD(U) will contest 16 seats.
Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada, and Jamui. The state will see polling in seven phases, with the final phase on June 1 and counting of votes on June 4.