PATNA, Nov. 11 -- The high-stakes battle for Bihar will end on Tuesday as 122 assembly constituencies across 20 districts go to polls in the second and final phase of the state elections, deciding the political fate of 1,302 candidates, including a dozen sitting ministers. The concluding round of polling will determine not just the next government but also the future of several key political heavyweights. Over 37 million voters, including 17.4 million women, are eligible to vote at 45,399 polling stations. Young voters form a decisive bloc in this phase, with 769,000 first-time voters (aged 18-19), 8.48 million in the 20-29 age group, and 10.4 million in the 30-40 age group - together comprising nearly 19.7 million of the electorate The 122 seats going to the polls in the second phase are spread across Bihar's central, western, and northern regions. Among the 20 districts going to polls are West Champaran, East Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Supaul, Araria, Kishanganj, Purnia, Katihar, Bhagalpur, Banka, Kaimur, Rohtas, Arwal, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada, and Jamui. Bordering Nepal, several districts - notably West Champaran, East Champaran, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Supaul, Araria, and Kishanganj - fall in the Seemanchal region, home to a large Muslim population. The region remains a crucial battleground, with the INDIA bloc banking on minority votes, while the NDA has focused its campaign on issues of nationalism and alleged "infiltration." In the 2020 election on the same seats, the BJP won 42 out of these 122 seats, followed by RJD (33), JDU (20), Congress (11), and the Left (5). In the 2015 election, when the JDU and RJD were allies, the BJP's seat tally had dropped to 36, and the JDU-RJD-Congress block won 80 out of these 122 seats. Among the prominent ministers in the fray on Tuesday are power minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav (Supaul), industries minister Nitish Mishra (Jhanjharpur), transport and communication minister Sheela Kumari Mandal (Phulparas), minister of public health engineering minister Neeraj Kumar Singh Bablu (Chhatapur), sugarcane industries minister Krishnandan Paswan (Harsidih), food and consumer protection minister Leshi Singh (Dhamdaha), rural works minister Jayant Raj Kushwaha (Amarpur), cooperative minister Prem Kumar (Gaya Town), science and technology minister Sumit Kumar Singh (Chakai), minority welfare minister Mohammad Zama Khan (Chainpur), and animal and fisheries resources minister Renu Devi (Bettiah), a former deputy chief minister. Also in the fray are former deputy CM Tarkishore Prasad (Katihar), former speaker Uday Narain Choudhary (Sikandra), and several ex-ministers such as Vinay Bihari (Lauriya), Narayan Prasad (Nautan), Shamim Ahmed (Narkatia), Rana Randhir Singh (Madhuban), Pramod Kumar (Motihari), and Sunil Kumar Pintu (Sitamarhi). The second phase also features state party presidents Rajesh Ram (Congress, Kutumba), Raju Tiwary (LJP-Ram Vilas, Gobindganj), and Anil Kumar (HAM-S, Tikari). Among fresh faces and regional aspirants, Ritesh Pandey, Bhojpuri actor-singer and candidate of Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party, is contesting from Kargahar (Rohtas), while Dhirendra Agrawal of the same party challenges BJP veteran Prem Kumar in Gaya Town. Snehlata Kushwaha of Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), wife of Union minister Upendra Kushwaha, is in the fray from Sasaram, and Dipa Kumari of HAM(S), daughter-in-law of Jitan Ram Manjhi, contests from Imamganj. Of the 122 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded candidates on 53 seats, the Janata Dal (United) on 44, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) on 15, Hindustan Awam Morcha(Secular) on six, and Rashtriya Lok Manch on four. In the INDIA bloc, the Rashtriya Janata Dal is contesting 72, the Congress 37, the Vikassheel Insaan Party on eight, the Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) Liberation on six, the Communist Party of India on four, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on one. The alliance, however, faces internal friction, with multiple partners contesting against each other on six seats, including Kargahar (CPI-Cong), Narkatiaganj (RJD-Cong), Kahalgaon (RJD-Cong), Sultanganj (RJD-Cong), Chainpur (RJD-VIP) and Sikandra (RJD-Cong). A total of 1,625 companies of Central Armed Police Forces have been deployed to ensure free and fair polling. Various India-Nepal border points have been closed for 72 hours as part of heightened security arrangements for the polls. "More than 4 lakh security personnel have been deployed in Bihar for poll duties to ensure free and fair elections," an Election Commission official said on Monday. Around 500 companies (around 50,000) of the Central Armed Police Force had been engaged in pre-election duties in Bihar, and subsequently, 500 more companies of CAPF arrived in the state, he said. "Besides, an additional 500 companies arrived for poll duties in the third week of October. More than 60,000 personnel of the Bihar Police have already been engaged in election duty," said a senior official on the condition of anonymity. Around 2,000 personnel of reserve battalions from other states, 30,000 personnel of the Bihar Special Armed Police, more than 20,000 home guards, around 19,000 newly recruited constables (who are undergoing training), and nearly 1.5 lakh 'chowkidars' (rural police) have also been engaged in the poll duty for both phases, he said. The first phase of polling held on November 6, covering 121 constituencies across 18 districts, recorded a historic voter turnout of 65.08%, the highest-ever in Bihar. To be sure, this number came after the special intensive revision of electoral rolls trimmed the electorate in Bihar from 78.9 million people to 74.2 million....