LS polls: Campaigning ends in 7 Bihar seats for fifth phase

The battle cry died down this evening as campaigning came to a close in seven crucial Bihar Lok Sabha seats going to the polls in the fifth phase on May 7.

This round of elections in the Gangetic plains of Bihar will see crucial fight in Hajipur(SC) and Saran seats from where LJP President Ramvilas Paswan and RJD chief Lalu Prasad's wife Rabri Devi are in the fray among 118 candidates. Besides the two seats, parliamentary election would also be held in Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur, Maharajganj and Ujiyarpur seats.

Polling would also be held in Chiraiya and Maharajganj assembly constituencies in this phase. With the completion of polling in the seven seats, voting would be over in 34 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. Five of the seven LS seats going to the polls on Wednesady had been won by JD(U) in 2009.

Saran and Maharajganj went to RJD. Over 1.08 crore electorate would cast their vote in 9804 polling stations to decide the fate of 118 candidates. With the fates of Ramvilas Paswan, Rabri Devi and Rajiv Pratap Rudy linked with these seats, senior leaders of all parties canvassed for their candidates.

BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi addressed election meetings at Ujiyarpur, Saran and Hajipur to set the pace. Senior party leader Sushma Swaraj also pitched in and so did Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Congress President Sonia Gandhi addressed a rally at Muzaffarpur on the last day of campaigning on May 5 in favour of former union minister for state Akhilesh Prasad Singh.

Prior to her, Kapil Sibal and actor-Parliamentarian Raj Babbar addressed poll meetings, while RJD president Lalu Prasad and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar criss-crossed these constituencies a numerous times to bolster their parties' chances. Elaborate security arrangements have been made for Wednesday's polling in the seven seats. The Indo-Nepal border in Bihar was sealed as majority of the seven constituencies are near it. Deputy Election Commissioner Alok Shukla reviewed the poll arrangements to ensure smooth and incident free voting.