Campaign ends for first phase of Bihar polls

Campaigning for the first of the six-phase Bihar assembly polls ended peacefully on Tuesday evening.

With the end of campaigning, the stage is set for a triangular and multi-cornered costest in 47 of 243 assembly seats going to polls on October 21.

About 10.6 million voters will decide the fate of 635 candidates in the fray for the first phase.

The areas going to the polls are in the flood prone and poverty stricken Kosi-Seemanchal and Mithilanchal belt. Most of the 10,454 polling booths are in rural areas.

The two week-long campaign saw top leaders including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Congress president Sonia Gandhi ,Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad, Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan hitting the campaign trail in a big way.