Nomination process begins for Bihar's second phase assembly polls

The filing of nomination papers for 122 Bihar assembly seats, which will go to the elections in the second phase, began on Monday, officials said. The nomination process began with the Election Commission issuing the notification for polling in these seats on November 11, they said. Nominations can be filed for these seats till October 20, while the last date for withdrawal of candidature is October 23, they added. Among the significant seats going to polls in this phase are Imamganj, where the sitting MLA is Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's daughter-in-law Deepa Manjhi, ex-RJD minister Kumar Sarvjeet's Bodh Gaya, Bhojpuri singer Vinay Bihari's Lauriya and ex-BJP minister Narayan Prasad's Nautan. The nomination process for the 121 seats in the first phase began on Friday. Polling in these seats will be held on November 6. Candidates can file their nomination papers till October 17, officials said. The counting of votes for all 243 seats will be held on November 14.