Bihar polls: 27.65% turnout till 11 am; Begusarai leads in voting

Patna, Nov 6: Around 27.65% of Bihar’s 3.75 crore voters exercised their franchise till 11 am in the first phase of the state Assembly elections on Thursday.

Polling began at 7 am for 121 constituencies across 18 districts, with voting scheduled to continue till 5 pm amid tight security arrangements.

According to the Election Commission, Begusarai recorded the highest turnout till 11 am at 30.37%, followed by Lakhisarai (30.32%) and Gopalganj (30.04%).

At 9 am, the overall turnout stood at 13.13%, with Saharsa (15.27%), Begusarai (14.6%), and Muzaffarpur (14.38%) leading the charts.

In all, 1,314 candidates are in the fray in this phase, which will decide the electoral fate of several top leaders, including Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, and VIP chief Mukesh Sahani.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar travelled to his hometown Bakhtiarpur to cast his vote, urging citizens to exercise their democratic right. “Voting is not only a right but also a duty in a democracy,” he posted on social media.

Tejashwi Yadav, accompanied by his family members including RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and former CM Rabri Devi, cast his vote at the Veterinary College booth in Patna.

“I appeal to the youth to bring change by forming a new government,” Tejashwi said. Rabri Devi echoed the sentiment, urging voters to “vote and bring change”.

Tej Pratap Yadav, contesting from Mahua, where he made his electoral debut in 2015, also voted at the same booth. “Every vote counts. The people of Bihar must come forward and participate,” he said.

From the ruling BJP, Union ministers Giriraj Singh and Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’, along with Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, were among the early voters.

“Voting is the festival of democracy, and Bihar, the birthplace of democracy, always upholds its spirit,” Rai said.

BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad expressed confidence that the NDA would return to power. “The people of Bihar will vote in large numbers, and the NDA will comfortably form the government,” he said.

Singer-turned-politician Khesari Lal Yadav of the RJD and BJP leader Bikhu Bhai Dalsania also cast their votes early in the day.

Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) alleged irregularities during polling, claiming power cuts at certain booths “strongly supporting” the Mahagathbandhan had slowed voting.

“The electricity is being cut off intermittently at strong booths of the Mahagathbandhan to slow down voting. This is deliberate rigging with malicious intent,” the RJD alleged in a post on social media.

The Bihar Chief Electoral Office, however, dismissed the charge, terming it “completely baseless and misleading”. “Voting is taking place smoothly across the state. All protocols are being followed to ensure a fair, transparent and uninterrupted process,” it said in a statement.

Polling will continue till 5 pm, with results from this phase to play a key role in setting the tone for the remainder of the Assembly elections.

PTI