BATTLEGROUND BIHAR
PATNA, Nov 6: A voter turnout of 64.46 per cent was recorded provisionally at the close of polling in 121 seats in the first phase of assembly elections in Bihar on Thursday, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vinod Singh Gunjiyal said.
A total of 3.75 crore voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in this phase, to decide the electoral fate of 1,314 candidates, he said.
Voting took place across 45,341 polling stations, of which 36,733 were in rural areas, he added.
Gunjiyal said that barring a few incidents of “minor scuffles” in Lakhisarai and Saran, polling passed off peacefully.
“Voting began at 7 am and concluded at 6 pm amid tight security. Around 64.46 per cent voter turnout was recorded,” he said.
“A total of 143 complaints were received and were immediately resolved,” he added.
Gunjiyal said polling was boycotted in certain booths in Buxar, Fatuha and Suryagarha.
Meanwhile, amid stray incidents of violence, including an attack on Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha’s vehicle, voters exercised their franchise across 121 constituencies.
Stakes are high for both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc in the first phase of the assembly elections, with several key leaders, including RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, and several ministers, in the fray.
The ruling NDA, which has been in power in the state for 20 years, except for a few brief interruptions, is banking on its image of “sushasan” (good governance) in contrast to the alleged “jungle raj” that marked the 15 years old rule of the RJD-Congress combine.
The NDA hopes that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s record, along with recent welfare measures such as 125 units of free power, Rs 10,000 cash transfers to over one crore women, and an increase in social security pensions, will help counter anti-incumbency.
However, the opposition dismissed the boasts of the BJP-led coalition and hoped that people would vote for a change.
RJD president Lalu Prasad, who hopes that his younger son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav will form the next government, came out with an evocative social media post, drawing the analogy of a “roti”.
“If a roti is not flipped on a tawa (pan), it gets burnt. Twenty years is a long time. A Tejashwi government is essential to build a new Bihar”, Prasad wrote on X.
There have also been allegations and counter-allegations from both sides on polling day.
Deputy CM Sinha, who is seeking a fourth consecutive term from Lakhisarai, claimed that one of the cars in his convoy was attacked by RJD supporters trying to “intimidate” voters belonging to extremely backward classes.
On the other hand, the RJD alleged on its X handle that voting had been “deliberately slowed down” in areas where the INDIA bloc was strongly placed, a charge promptly rejected by the Election Commission.
A notable feature of this election has been the presence of Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, which the former political strategist believes could emerge as the proverbial dark horse.
Kishor has caught public imagination with his promise of making the state “among the top-ranking ones in the country”, and to this end, he has not shied away from making a few bold statements, including his public announcement that he intends to scrap the prohibition law, which has been bleeding the state dry.
Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary MA Baby said on Thursday that the Mahagathbandhan’s campaign received an overwhelming response from the people of Bihar and expressed confidence that people, especially youth, will reject “politics of hate”.
In a post on X, the CPI(M) general secretary said the opposition’s alliance has brought issues of people’s welfare and livelihood to the fore.
“The Mahagathbandhan campaign has received an overwhelming response from the people of Bihar. We have successfully brought people’s welfare and livelihood issues to the forefront,” Baby said.
“We are confident that the people of Bihar, especially the youth who are seeking employment, will reject the politics of hate, uphold the values of democracy and secularism, and vote decisively for change,” he added.
The CPI(M) is contesting from four assembly constituencies in the Bihar elections. (PTI)
64.46pc voter turnout recorded
Deputy CM alleges attack
by ‘RJD goons’
Lalu calls for change of guard
