Patna, May 2 : The third phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections is turning out to be a contest between experienced candidates versus first-timers in Bihar.

NDA has given tickets to sitting MPs in four Lok Sabha constituencies while only one in Khagaria seat was given to a first-time candidate. On the other hand, the Grand Alliance has given the tickets to the candidates who are contesting the Lok Sabha elections for the first time.

The voting for the five seats -- Madhepura, Araria, Jhanjharpur, Supaul and Khagaria -- is scheduled in the third phase on May 7.

In Madhepura, JD-U's Dinesh Chandra Yadav, who has a stronghold in the Yadav caste in Madhepura, is contesting the election. He is a sitting MP and had defeated RJD's Sharad Yadav in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The RJD has given the ticket to Kumar Chandradeep, who is a principal in a school and is contesting the Lok Sabha elections for the first time.

Pradeep Kumar Singh, the sitting MP of BJP, is in the fray in Araria. He will contest against RJD's Shahnawaz Alam who is an MLA from the Jokihat constituency and is contesting the Lok Sabha elections for the first time.

In Jhanjharpur, Rampreet Mandal is contesting as an NDA candidate on the ticket of JD-U. He is a sitting MP from this seat and is pitted against Vikassheel Insaan Party's (VIP) Suman Kumar Mahaseth, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election for the first time. Mahaseth, an ex-MLC, also contested the assembly election but lost.

Supaul is another seat where the NDA has given the ticket to a sitting MP. JD-U's Dileshwar Kamait is contesting against Grand Alliance candidate Chandrahas Chaupal, who is a legislator in the Bihar assembly and is contesting the Lok Sabha election for the first time.

Khagaria is the only seat where both NDA and Grand Alliance have given the tickets to first-time candidates. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Mahboob Ali Kaiser won the seat on the ticket of LJP. He later joined the Pashupati Kumar Paras faction. Though he resigned from the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) and met with Chirag Paswan, he was not given the ticket. Now, he has joined RJD.

The Khagaria seat went to LJP (Ram Vilas) after seat-sharing in NDA and the party has given the ticket to Rajesh Verma. He was the LJP (Ram Vilas) district president of Bhagalpur. 31-year-old Verma is contesting against CPM candidate Sanjay Kumar, who is also contesting the Lok Sabha elections for the first time.

'Our leader Tejashwi Yadav is a youth and he has a vision to promote a new generation of politicians in Bihar. Hence, he has given the tickets to many candidates who are contesting the Lok Sabha elections for the first time. In the first phase, Archana Ravidas contested from Jamui as a first-time candidate of Lok Sabha. Shrawan Kushwaha also contested for the first time, from Nawada. Bima Bharti also contested the Lok Sabha elections from Purnea for the first time. Rohini Acharya is also contesting the Lok Sabha elections for the first time,' said Chitranjan Gagan, the spokesperson of RJD.

'Even our alliance partners are following the same in the selection of candidates. If we analyse the average age of candidates, it is not beyond 40 in this Lok Sabha election,' Gagan said.

'Grand Alliance is not getting candidates. That's why they are making anyone their candidate. They don't even have the face of the Prime Minister. This is an election to choose the Prime Minister. We have a universally recognised leader who has prestige all over the world. India has gained global stature under his (PM Modi) leadership,' said Arvind Kumar Singh, the spokesperson of BJP.

/IANS