Bihar Assembly Election 2020: JD(U) shows faith in Kamala Singh, one of the 22 women candidates

The top contenders from the Ziradei constituency are Kamala Singh of the Janata Dal (United), Binod Tiwari of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Amarjeet Kushwaha Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation).

Ziradei is one of the 94 constituencies going to the polls in the second phase of the Bihar Assembly Election 2020, scheduled to be held on November 3. The top contenders from this constituency are Kamala Singh of the Janata Dal (United), Binod Tiwari of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Amarjeet Kushwaha Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation). The LJP which was earlier contesting as a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is now fighting the election alone.

The first phase of the assembly election in Bihar saw voting in 71 constituencies on October 28. Voting for the third and final phase will take place on November 7. Counting of votes will be on November 10. (PTI Photo)

Ziradei is situated in Siwan and falls under the Siwan Lok Sabha constituency. As per the census of 2011, Ziradei has a total population 367,965 which includes 93.6 per cent belonging to the rural areas and the remaining 6.4 per cent belonging to the urban.

Currently, the constituency has a voter population of 276,732 out of which 145,727 are men, 130,996 are women and nine belong to the third gender.

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Significantly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the JD(U) who are contesting this year’s election together were against each other in 2015.

JD(U)’s Ramesh Singh Kushwaha won the constituency in 2015 by a majority of 40,760 votes and a vote share of nearly 30 per cent. Asha Devi of the BJP came second with 34,669 votes and a vote share of 25.51 per cent. CPI (M-L) Liberation’s Amarjeet Kushwaha who is also a top contender in 2020 stood third in 2015 and secured 34,482 votes.

The first phase of the assembly election in Bihar saw voting in 71 constituencies on October 28. Voting for the third and final phase will take place on November 7. Counting of votes will be on November 10.

The 2020 assembly election in Bihar is taking place when India is combating the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) disease since late January when the first case was reported. With a view to ensuring safe and smooth polling in the state, the Election Commission of India (ECI) laid out several guidelines which are to be followed by voters as they exercise their franchise.

Some of these include wearing of a face mask or face covering during all voting-related activities, mandatory sanitization of polling booths and ensuring social distancing inside and outside booths at all times. The ECI has also allowed Covid-19 infected patients who are under quarantine to cast their vote through the postal ballot system.