Voters wait in a queue to cast votes at a polling station during the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, at Hajipur in Vaishali.
Credit PTI Photo
Patna: Barring a few minor skirmishes, polling for the first phase of election in 121 seats, out of 243 constituencies, remained by and large peaceful. 64.66 percent of the voters turned out to exercise their franchise, according to EC.
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This included Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, former CMs Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi, Mahagatbandhan CM face Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar’s Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary and popular teacher-cum-youtuber Khan Sir.
Incidentally, all the top three guns – Nitish, Lalu and Rabri - are not contesting the Assembly polls for different reasons. While Nitish and Rabri are members of the Legislative Council, Lalu has been debarred from contesting any poll following his conviction in the fodder scam.
Nitish, who was one of the early voters today, went to Bakhtiyarpur, 50 kms from Patna, to cast his vote, while Lalu and his family, including daughters, exercised their franchise here in the State Capital.
HIGHEST & LOWEST
The first phase of voting, which began at 7 am on Thursday and ended at 6 pm, saw the highest polling percentage in Begusarai, while Sheikhpura recorded the lowest.
Bihar is the first State in the country where elections are being held after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll was carried out earlier this year and its voters' numbers came down from 7.9 crore to 7.4 crore, post-SIR.
In a few constituencies, voters complained that their names had been struck off the electoral roll.
ATTACK ON DY CM?
Meanwhile, reports pouring in from Lakhisarai said the convoy of another Deputy CM and senior BJP leader Vijay Sinha was attacked by some unidentified miscreants who also raised ‘Murdabad’ slogan against him when he visited his constituency Lakhisarai in the central Bihar. The RJD, however, brushed aside the charges. “Vijay Sinha himself orchestrates such attacks so that his vote share is increased,” averred RJD nominee from adjoining Mokama, Veena Devi.
FATE SEALED
With today’s poll, the fate of Tejashwi Yadav (from Raghopur), his estranged brother Tej Pratap (Mahua), Bihar’s Deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary (Tarapur) and Vijay Sinha (Lakhisarai), folk singer Maithili Thakur (Alinagar), don-turned-politician Anant Singh (Mokama) and former Bahubali late Shahabuddin’s son Osama (Raghunathpur) has been sealed.
Now that the first phase of the poll is over, the second and last phase of election will be conducted on November 11. Counting of votes for all the 243 seats is slated for November 14.