Ram Vilas Paswan confident of LJP's win in Bihar

Expressing confidence, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Hajipur constituency, on Wednesday said there is a Modi and Paswan wave in Bihar.

"We are very confident that Hajipur is going to break its earlier polling record. There is only Modi and Ram Vilas Paswan factor in Bihar. There is no other factor here," said Paswan, whose political future will be decided today in the eighth phase of Lok Sabha polls.

Echoing with his father, Chirag Paswan said, "In Hajipur, it will be a one-sided affair. And if we talk about Bihar and the whole country, there is a wave of Modi and Ram Vilas Paswan. There is no Nitsih or Lalu factor in these elections."

He also said that the polarization has happened in the name of development, and all the 40 candidates of BJP-LJP alliance are going to win in Bihar.

Sixty-four Lok Sabha constituencies spread over seven states and 175 assembly constituencies in the Seemandhra region went to polls early in the morning amid tight security.

Today is the eighth and penultimate phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The Lok Sabha constituencies going to polls are 25 in Andhra Pradesh, 15 in Uttar Pradesh, seven in Bihar, six in West Bengal, five in Uttarakhand, four in Himachal Pradesh and two in Jammu and Kashmir.

Prominent candidates in the fray are Congress Party vice president Rahul Gandhi, Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma, Union HRD Minister M.M. Pallam Raju, ex-Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif and television actress Smriti Irani.

Varun Gandhi, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Anurag Thakur, Ram Vilas Paswan, Rabri Devi and Kumar Vishwas are the other prominent leaders whose political future will be decided today.

The Election Commission has reportedly taken several steps to ensure free and fair polling during the last two phases of the general elections.