Polling progressed at a moderate pace across 121 Assembly constituencies of Bihar on Thursday, with 60.18 per cent of 3.75 crore voters casting their votes till 3 pm to decide the fate of over 1000 candidates in the first phase of elections, which also witnessed sporadic incidents of violence.
Stakes are high for both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc, with several key leaders, including RJD`s Tejashwi Yadav, Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary, and Vijay Kumar Sinha, and several ministers, in the fray.
Among the 18 districts, Begusarai recorded the highest turnout of 67.32 per cent, followed by Samastipur (66.65), and Madhepura (65.74). Turn out in Muzaffarur was 58.40 per cent and Gopalganj at 58.17 per cent. Lakhisarai district recorded a turnout of 57.39 per cent while Patna district continued to record a slow-moving voter turnout among all districts at 48.69 per cent.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha. PIC/PTI
The first phase will decide the fate of several senior leaders, including RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Mangal Pandey and JD(U)’s Shravan Kumar and Vijay Kumar Choudhary. Tej Pratap Yadav is also in the fray in the first phase. The low turnout in Patna was largely attributed to urban constituencies such as Bankipur (34.80 per cent), Digha (31.89 per cent) and Kumhrar (37.73 per cent).
Dy CM Sinha alleges convoy attacked; EC orders action
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha caused a flutter on Thursday, alleging that his convoy had been attacked by workers of the main opposition party, RJD, who were trying to “intimidate” voters in the area.
The senior BJP leader, who is seeking re-election for a fourth consecutive term, expressed dissatisfaction with the response of the local administration, saying he would take up the matter with the Election Commission (EC). Reacting to the alleged incident, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar directed the state DGP to take “immediate action”.
Lakhisarai SP Ajay Kumar said polling was continuing in the area where Sinha alleged that his convoy was attacked by RJD supporters. “I have received reports of some protests over broken roads, but I will be able to confirm what actually happened only after visiting the site,” the SP said.
Talking to reporters, the deputy chief minister said, “Since morning, RJD have been intimidating voters belonging to extremely backward classes. The local SP is a coward. He says there is peace all around, when the fact is that people are not being allowed to vote”.
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