Polling began this morning in 13 of the 40 parliamentary constituencies in Bihar going to the poll in the first of the four-phase elections amidst tight security.

Prominent among those trying their luck at the hustings are RJD chief and Railway minister Lalu Prasad from the Saran seat against BJP rival and party spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

Others include union ministers Meira Mumar of Congress (Sasaram), RJD's Kanti Singh (Karakat) and former Delhi police commissioner and sitting Congress MP Nikhil Kumar (Auranbagad).

Also trying their luck are Bihar ministers Bhola Singh of BJP (Nawada) and JD(U)'s Brishen Patel (Siwan), who is crossing swords with Hina Shahab, wife of controversial RJD MP Mohammed Shahabuddin, sentenced to life imprisonment in a kidnapping and suspected murder case and punished in several others.

Polling is being held in Gopalganj, Maharajganj, Ara, Gaya, Buxar, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Nawada, Saran, Sasaram, Siwan, Karakat and Jamui constituencies.

An electorate of over 1.75 crore is eligible to caste their votes at 19,738 polling stations to choose from among 223 candidates, including 21 women.