Bihar elections: Begusarai, Lakhisarai record brisk voting; how other districts fared in initial hours
People show their credentials as they wait in a queue to cast votes at a polling station in Patna | PTI
Bihar recorded a voter turnout of 27.65 per cent in the first four hours of the first phase of Assembly polls on Thursday, data from the Election Commission showed.
Begusarai district witnessed the highest polling at 30.37 per cent, while Lakhisarai closely followed at 30.32 per cent. Capital Patna recorded a slow turnout of 23.71 per cent.
Among other districts, Gopalganj (30.04 per cent), Saharsa (29.68), Muzaffarpur (29.66), Khagaria (28.96), Vaishali (28.76), Saran (28.52), Madhepura (28.46), Buxar (28.02), and Samastipur (27.92) showed brisk voting till 11 am.
Bhojpur (26.76 per cent), Darbhanga ( 26.07), Munger (26.68), Nalanda (26.86), Sheikhpura (26.04), and Siwan (27.09) were the other districts that went to polls in the first phase.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, party leader and INDIA bloc’s deputy chief minister candidate Tejashwi Yadav were among the early voters who exercised their franchise in the morning.
The RJD alleged that electricity was being cut off intermittently at the strong booths of the Mahagathbandhan with the intention of slowing down the voting.
“Slow voting is being deliberately caused. Please, the Election Commission, take immediate cognisance of such rigging with 'malicious intent' and 'malafide intentions' and take prompt action,” it said in a post on X.
The Election Commission dismissed the allegation as "baseless" and "misleading".
“Voting is taking place smoothly at all polling stations in Bihar. The Election Commission of India is following all standard protocols to ensure that the voting process is fair, transparent, and uninterrupted. There is no basis for such misleading propaganda,” Bihar Chief Electoral Office posted on X.
The voting, which began at 7 am for 121 seats amid tight security arrangements, will continue till 6 pm. A total of 3.75 crore voters will decide the electoral fate of 1,314 candidates in the first phase.
India