Women performing Jhijhiya dance. (File photo for representational purpose)
Credit: Wikimediacomments/By DEV
Purnea (Bihar): In an innovative effort to encourage voter participation, cultural troupes performed Bihar’s traditional folk and tribal dances outside a polling booth in Purnea district on Tuesday.
Voting is underway for 122 constituencies in Bihar in the second and final phase of the high-stakes assembly polls amid tight security arrangements.
At a model polling station in Kala Bhawan, the dance troupes welcomed voters by performing folk and tribal dance. They also offered roses with an appeal to use their right to vote.
Voters appreciated performers for promoting Bihar’s cultural heritage.
Ajay Kumar Mandal, a folk dance trainer, said, "We designed the performance based on Bihar’s culture. There are two girl troupes—one in Bihar’s folk attire, while another in tribal outfit. They are not only performing but also welcoming voters by offering roses." Mandal also appealed to voters to come out of the houses and exercise their franchise.
In the second phase, 3.7 crore voters will decide the electoral fate of 1,302 candidates, including several ministers in the Nitish Kumar government.
Bihar recorded the "highest ever" voter turnout of over 65 per cent in the polling across 121 constituencies in the first phase of the assembly elections on November 6.
Votes of both phases will be counted on November 14.