Picture : @ECISVEEP/X
In the “highest ever” voter turnout in Bihar, nearly 65 percent of 3.75 crore electors exercised their franchise on Thursday across 121 constituencies in the first phase of the assembly elections, which marks the beginning of a closely watched high-stakes contest that is seen as a litmus test of the ruling National Democratic Alliance’s popularity.
In a statement, the Election Commission said the first phase of the assembly elections concluded peacefully “in a festive mood with the highest-ever voter turnout of 64.66 percent in the history of Bihar”.
Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Singh Gunjiyal said women came out in large numbers to cast their votes, with “a lot of enthusiasm”.
The 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” of the RJD-Congress combine, while the opposition bloc relies on anti-incumbency and the unprecedented “jobs-for-every-home” promise of its CM candidate, Tejashwi Yadav, to outperform the ruling alliance.
Earlier, Voting began for 121 seats in Bihar in the first phase of assembly elections on Thursday morning, amid tight security arrangements, an official said.
The polling commenced at 7 am and will continue till 5 pm.
In the first phase, a total of 3.75 crore voters will decide the electoral fate of 1,314 candidates, including top leaders such as INDIA bloc’s chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary of the BJP.
Choudhary, who is enjoying his second consecutive term in the legislative council, is contesting a direct election after about a decade from Tarapur. The former state BJP president faces a stiff challenge from RJD’s Arun Kumar Sah, who had lost the seat in 2020 by a margin of about 5,000 votes.
The other Deputy CM in the Nitish Kumar government, Vijay Kumar Sinha, will also have his electoral fate decided in the first phase of polls.
Sinha hopes to retain Lakhisarai for the fourth consecutive term, surmounting the not-so-formidable challenge provided by Amresh Kumar of the Congress and Suraj Kumar of the Jan Suraaj Party.
Meanwhile, “Bihar has shown the way to the nation. SIR with Zero Appeals and highest voter turnout since 1951. Purest electoral rolls and enthusiastic participation of electors. Transparent and dedicated election machinery. Democracy wins. It has been an amazing journey for ECI,” the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said.
