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Seven sensitive Bihar seats to go to polls on Saturday
by Ajay Kumar

     Patna: Seven super-sensitive assembly constituencies of Bihar, where polling was deferred due to security reasons on October 26, will go to polls on Saturday amidst unprecedented security arrangements. Announcing this on Friday, Bihar's Chief Electoral Officer N K Sinha said simultaneous repolling would be held at 114 booths in Jamui assembly constituency, which went to the polls on October 18. The Jamui constituency has been in the news over the arrest and subsequent "illegal release" of Vijay Prakash, a nominee of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, and brother of Union Minister of State for Water Resources Jaiprakash Narain Yadav from police custody. A local court had issued non bailable warrants of arrest against the minister, his brother and three others on Monday. Both Yadav and his brother have gone underground and a Jamui court has dismissed the Union Minister's plea for anticipatory bail. State Home Secretary H C Sirohi said that foolproof security arrangements had been made to conduct free and peaceful elections on Saturday.

     Sinha said 15,72,183 voters would exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 62 candidates in seven constituencies of Samastipur, Sarairanjan, Dalisingsarai, Surajgarha, Kadwa, Barsoi and Kharagpur. While RJD is contesting Samastipur, Sarairanjan, Dalisingsarai, Surajgarha and Kharagpur seats, its ally NCP has fielded its nominees for Kadwa and Barsoi. JD(U) has put up candidates at Samastipur, Sarairanjan, Dalsingsarai and Kharagpur, while its partner BJP is contesting Surajgarha, Kadwa and Barsoi seats. The LJP has fielded its nominees in Samastipur, Sarairanjan, Dalisingsarai, Kharagpur, Barsoi and Surajgarha and its electoral ally CPI at Kadwa. Prominent among them are former state ministers Ramnath Thakur (JD-U) and Ashok Singh (LJP) from Samastipur, former leader of the opposition in the state assembly Upendra Prasad Singh (JD-U) from Dalsinghsarai, state LJP parliamentary board chairman Satish Kumar from Surajgarha and RJD's Shanti Devi, mother of elusive Union Minister Jaiprakash Narain Yadav, from Kharagpur. Sirohi said all polling stations would be manned by central para- military forces (CPMF), with over 13,000 officers and jawans standing guard at 1,725 booths. Two choppers of the Indian Air Force would maintain aerial surveillance, while speedboats would patrol the rivers. Besides, mounted police force would be deployed in riverine areas to instil confidence among the voters, the home secretary said, adding the CPMF would be assisted by the district armed police.