Why Bihar Phase 2 & MP Bypolls Maybe Make-or-Break for Opposition

94 seats in 17 districts have gone to polls in the second phase of Bihar elections as 10 other states are voting in the bypolls for 54 seats.

(Photo: The Quint)

Some high stakes elections are being conducted in the country under the looming presence of the pandemic. In Bihar, 94 seats in 17 districts have gone to polls in the second phase of Assembly elections, as 10 other states are voting in the bypolls for 54 seats.

In Bihar, there are as many as 1,500 candidates contesting in the second phase, including RJD's Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav from Raghopur and Hasanpur constituencies along with several ministers of the state cabinet, like Road Construction minister Nand Kishore Yadav, who is seeking his seventh consecutive term from Patna Sahib.

As Tejashwi seems to have gained more popularity in the past six weeks, what will really be tested in this phase is the strength of the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan in the face of Nitish Kumar's 15-year anti-incumbency.

While the RJD squares off with the BJP and JD(U) alliance in Bihar, elsewhere, in Madhya Pradesh, the bypolls tantamount to a prestige battle between the Congress and BJP.

Will Kamal Nath be able to make comeback or will the newly formed Shivraj-Scindia alliance hold ground? Who has an advantage in Bihar's second phase? Tune in!