Bihar Elections 2020: Out of 1,464, only 146 women candidates for second phase elections

Patna, Nov 02: The second phase of polling in Bihar is all set to take place on Tuesday with 146 women candidates, out of 1,464, from various political parties trying their luck.

Among these 146 women candidates, it can be seen that only 27 have been fielded by leading political parties with eight women from the Grand Alliance, 13 from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and six from the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP). Rest of them are fighting as Independent candidates or on the tickets of smaller political parties.

On Tuesday, polling will be held in 94 assembly constituencies in 17 districts. The third and final phase of polling will be held on November 7. Results will be announced on November 10.

Here's a look at the most prominent women candidates in the second phase of Bihar assembly elections:

1. Manju Verma: Manju Verma has been an MLA from Cheria-Bariarpur constituency, which falls under Begusarai Lok Sabha constituency, in 2010 and in 2015. Earlier, it can be seen that her father-in-law and her husband also represented the seat. In 2015, she was the only woman member of Nitish Kumar's cabinet where she was given the portfolio of social justice ministry. But she was expelled from the Janata Dal(United) after her alleged involvement in the notorious Muzaffarpur shelter case but the JD(U) has fielded her again from the seat.

2. Pushpam Priya Chaudhary: Pushpam Priya Chaudhary launched her own Plurals Party and is contesting from Bankipur in Patna against the BJP's Nitin Nabin and Congress' Luv Sinha. She is the daughter of former JD(U) MLC Vinod Chaudhary.

3. Mangita Devi: The Runni Saidpur constituency in Sitamarhi district is currently held by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Mangita Devi, who defeated Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) candidate Pankaj Kumar Mishra by a margin of 14,110 votes in the 2015 assembly elections. She comes from the Yadav clan and her father-in-law Bhola Rai has represented the seat in the past.

4. Guddi Devi: Guddi Devi is the major competitor against Mangita Devi from the Runni Saidpur constituency. The former MLA was a member of the JD(U) but did not get the seat from the party and therefore decided to contest from the LJP.

5. Renu Kumari: Renu Kumari was Bihar's industry and disaster management minister in Nitish Kumar's cabinet but she resigned from the post and the party in 2014 and joined the LJP. She is now facing Punam Devi on the Khagaria seat.