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Which Bihar assembly seats are attracting sharp scrutiny despite lacking star candidates? As 121 constituencies vote today, seats once decided by just a handful of votes may again witness neck-and-neck battles that could sway the state’s political balance.
Last time, Hilsa recorded the narrowest victory with just 12 votes separating JD(U) and RJD.
Patna: The first phase of the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 has brought renewed attention to several constituencies that witnessed nail-biting finishes in 2020. As voting takes place across 121 seats in 18 districts, constituencies such as Hilsa, Barbigha, Matihani, Bachhwara, Kurhani, and Bakhri are being watched with extra scrutiny by both alliances.
In the previous election, the margins in many of these seats were so narrow that a few dozen votes could have changed the outcome. Of the 243 seats in Bihar, 52 were decided by margins of less than 5,000 votes, highlighting how competitive the political landscape has become.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal had won 15 of those close contests, while Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United captured 13 and the Bharatiya Janata Party secured nine.
In 2020, Hilsa, a constituency in Nalanda district, saw the tightest race of the entire election. JD(U)’s Krishnamurari Sharan defeated RJD’s Shakti Singh Yadav by just 12 votes. The JD(U) candidate polled 61,848 votes, while Yadav finished at 61,836.
For Shakti Singh Yadav, who had won comfortably in 2015 by more than 26,000 votes, the loss was a major setback. Both men are back in the fray, and Hilsa remains one of the most keenly observed contests this time as well.
In Barbigha, located in Sheikhpura district, JD(U)’s Sudarshan Kumar won by a mere 113 votes in 2020, edging past Independent candidate Chandan Kumar. Sudarshan Kumar, who had switched from Congress to JD(U), has now chosen to contest as an Independent this time, while JD(U) has fielded Dr Kumar Pushpanjay. The split in the JD(U) vote could make this seat unpredictable once again.
First phase of Bihar Elections 2025 underway; Over 2.5 crore voters set to cast their ballots
The Matihani constituency in Begusarai witnessed a narrow 333-vote victory for Rajkumar Singh of the Lok Janshakti Party over JD(U)’s Narendra Kumar Singh. Ironically, Rajkumar Singh later joined the JD(U), adding a twist to the story. His shifting allegiance makes Matihani a closely observed seat once again.
In Bachhwara, also in Begusarai, the BJP’s Surendra Mahata triumphed over CPI’s Awadhesh Kumar Rai by just 484 votes in 2020. Both contenders are facing each other again in a rematch, joined by Congress candidate Shiv Prakash Garib Das. This triangular contest could tilt in any direction.
Kurhani in Muzaffarpur saw RJD’s Anil Kumar Sahni narrowly edge past BJP’s Kedar Prasad Gupta by 712 votes in 2020. However, Gupta bounced back with a decisive victory in the 2022 by-election and currently serves as the Panchayati Raj Minister in Nitish Kumar’s government. The contest once again promises a tight finish.
The Bakhri constituency in Begusarai, reserved for Scheduled Castes, saw CPI’s Suryakant Paswan defeat BJP’s Ramshankar Paswan by 777 votes in 2020. Both parties have invested heavily in this seat, viewing it as a symbolic battleground for Dalit representation.
As Bihar votes in the first phase, these constituencies—though lacking high-profile candidates, could hold the key to the larger political arithmetic. Their outcomes might once again prove that in Bihar’s democracy, every single vote truly counts.
