Bihar elections 2020 live updates: Mahagathbandhan releases its list of candidates for all 243 Assembly seats

The EC's advisory, re-issued ahead of the three-phase elections in Bihar beginning later this month, asked the media, both electronic and print, to "refrain" from airing and publishing such programmes during the prohibited period to ensure free, fair and transparent polls.

The advisory was first issued on March 30, 2017 in which the poll watchdog cited Section 126A of the Representation of the People Act.

The provision states that "no person shall conduct any exit poll and publish or publicise by means of the print and electronic media or disseminate in any other manner, whatsoever, the result of any exit poll during such period as may be notified by the Election Commission...."

Largely sung in Bhojpuri, the song rests entirely on a positive note underlining the development that dawned on Bihar during the NDA rule including the improvement in electricity supply, opening of AIIMS and IIM. It frequently refers to PM Modi and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar in a bid to add strength to the song’s public connect and appeal."Being a Bhojpuri superstar, he has a huge appeal among the people of Bihar. He will be releasing the election song on Friday which will be used in the Bihar election," said Neelkanth Bakshi of Delhi BJP.

The Congress on Thursday released its second list of 49 candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections, fielding Shatrughan Sinha's son Luv Sinha from Bankipur and Sharad Yadav's daughter Subhashini Yadav from Bihariganj seats. The party also nominated former MP Kali Pandey from Kuchaikote assembly constituency. Both Subhashini and Kali Pandey had joined the Congress only on Wednesday. Pandey has switched over to the Congress from the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).

Paswan said his party had fought the Lok Sabha polls last year in alliance with the JD(U) because of the "compulsions" brought on by the return to the NDA of Kumar, whose party he accused of working against LJP candidates in the general elections in violation of the coalition dharma.The 37-year-old, who recently lost his father Ram Vilas Paswan, the charismatic LJP founder, also alleged that Kumar had behaved "haughtily" when the late Union minister had called on him last year with the request to accompany him for filing nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will campaign for the party in all three phases of the Bihar Assembly polls, party's Bihar in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil on Wednesday. "Rahul Gandhi will campaign in all three-phase. The party will announce the date and zone of the campaign," Gohil told ANI after a meeting of the party's Central Election Committee (CEC).

Addressing a rally here, the Janata Dal-United chief highlighted the works done under his regime and also took a veiled jibe at Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). "We are now giving Rs 10,000 for girls passing intermediate examinations and Rs 25,000 to those graduating. We will give Rs 25,000 for girls passing intermediate examinations and Rs 50,000 to those graduating," he said."We have worked for the development of all areas in the state. No part of the state was ignored. Bihar is the first state where we gave women 50 per cent reservation in Panchayati Raj Institutions and civic bodies," he said.

The BJP on Wednesday issued its fourth list of 35 candidates for the Bihar assembly polls, and with this the party has named all its nominees for the 110 seats that it is contesting in the three-phase elections starting from October 28.All the candidates are for the third phase scheduled for November 7, the party said in a statement. Six female candidates figure on the fourth list.The JD(U) and the BJP are fighting on 115 and 110 seats respectively, with two smaller allies Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM (S) and Vikassheel Insaan Party contesting on seven and 11 seats respectively.

“If RJD forms government in Bihar, Kashmiri terrorists, whom we are trying to wipe out, will take shelter here. PM Narendra Modi will never allow that to happen. And fulfilling the responsibility given to me by PM Modi and Union home minister (Amit Shah), I will also never let them come here. But they will have intentions to somehow strike some deal with people greedy of power in Bihar,” Rai said.

While addressing through virtual medium the people of the 11 assembly constituencies in Patna, Arwal, Jehanabad, Bhojpur (Ara) and Buxar districts where his party JD(U) has fielded its candidates, Nitish debunked the unemployment issue raised by RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. “There is no state in the country and no country in the world that can give job to every individual. We can only provide work opportunities for the people,” the JD(U) national president said while comparing the development in various sectors of the state in the last 15 years with the 15-year Lalu-Rabri rule when, he said, no work was done between 1990 and 2005.

He lamented that in the ongoing polls in Bihar, the ruling coalition is setting the agendas and the opposition is only reacting to it instead of coming out with their own issues.

CPI is part of the RJD-led Grand Alliance in the Bihar elections. The left party is contesting on six seats in all three phases of the election as partner of the anti-NDA grouping.

Though Kumar, who unsuccessfully contested 2019 General Election from his native Begusarai Lok Sabha seat, is not fighting the state elections, but he has been named among the star campaigners of his party for the polls.

Tejashwi filed his nomination for the Raghopur seat of Vaishali district on Wednesday, where he is pitted against BJP's Satish Yadav, who was a former MLA.

"I have filed the nomination from Raghopur. The people of the constancy have blessed us. They will elect us. The people of Bihar are missing Laluji. I will share the manifesto in the next two days. We will share the blueprint document after discussing it with the left parties and Congress," he said while speaking to media.

The rallies proposed to the Prime Minister are scheduled to be held in Buxar, Jehanabad, Rohtas and Bhagalpur for the NDA candidates, according to sources in the party.

Once the clearance from the PMO comes, the party would ensure proper logistics at these venues along with the facilities for crowd management and also for the other leaders who are likely to be present in these rallies.

PM Modi is the biggest star campaigner for the party, and BJP hopes to encash his popularity among the masses in garnering votes for the alliance. Amid COVID-19 pandemic phase, the rallies ahead of the Assembly elections would be conducted with standard operating procedure (SOP) and guidelines for safety.