Patna (Bihar) [India], October 31 : With just six days left for voting, the Patna Sahib constituency is gearing up for a highly contested assembly election with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress fielding new candidates in the electoral fray.
While the BJP is fielding 45-year-old Ratnesh Kumar (also known as Ratnesh Khushwaha), who declared an income of Rs 5,09,650 for the financial year 2024-2025.
The Congress is looking to a 34-year-old, Shashant Shekhar, to win the Patna Sahib constituency, which has been a BJP stronghold since 2010. He has declared an income of Rs 11,94,260 for the financial year 2024-2025.
The Patna Sahib seat has been a BJP stronghold since 2010, with Nand Kishore Yadav, the current Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly, representing the constituency. However, Yadav is not contesting this time, having not received a ticket from the party.
While the BJP has kept this seat for over 15 years within the party, the introduction of a new face could make the elections a close contest with no single candidate having an established base in the constituency. However, Ratnesh Khushwaha is also known to be a close confidant of Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary.
While the constituency consists of Yadav, Kurmi and Baniya communities in the region, Baniyas are largely seen to be voting for the NDA.
In 2020, the constituency had a voting percentage of 52.25%, 1,88,259, from an electorate of more than 3.6 lakh people.
Patna Sahib will vote in the first phase of the elections on November 6. Meanwhile, the second phase of the elections will happen on November 11. The counting of votes is set to occur on November 14