Record-breaking voter turnout in the first phase of Bihar elections
64.46 percent voter turnout
The Sunday Mail
New Delhi. The first phase of Bihar Assembly elections concluded today. According to data shared by the Election Commission of India (ECI), 64.46 percent voter turnout was recorded till 6 pm. According to the Commission, this was a record-breaking turnout in the first phase. The last Assembly elections in 2020 saw a voter turnout of 57 percent.
A total of 1,314 candidates contested the first phase of elections. These included 1,192 men and 122 women. 102 seats in the first phase were reserved for the general category, while 19 seats were reserved for Scheduled Castes. The Commission provided facilities to a total of 37.5 million 13,302 voters to exercise their franchise in this phase. These included 1 crore 98 lakh 35 thousand 325 men, 1 crore 76 lakh 77 thousand 219 women and 758 third gender voters.
By 5 pm, Begusarai had the highest voter turnout of 67.32 percent. 64.96 percent in Gopalganj and 65.96 percent in Muzaffarpur, 55.02 percent voting took place in Patna district. 62.76 percent voting took place in Lakhisarai district, 65.74 percent voting took place in Madhepura. Voter turnout was 53.24 percent in Bhojpur district, 55.10 percent in Buxar, 58.38 percent in Darbhanga, 60.65 percent in Khagaria, 54.90 percent in Munger, 57.58 percent in Nalanda, 62.65 percent in Saharsa, 66.65 percent in Samastipur, 60.90 percent in Saran, 52.36 percent in Sheikhpura, 57.41 percent in Siwan and 59.45 percent in Vaishali.
Key constituencies: 64.01 percent in Raghopur, 54.88 percent in Mahua, 58.05 percent in Alinagar, 58.33 percent in Tarapur, 60.51 percent in Lakhisarai, 56.32 percent in Chhapra. Voter turnout was around 40 percent in Bankipur, 62.14 percent in Phulwari, 51.18 percent in Raghunathpur, 57.38 percent in Siwan, and 62.16 percent in Mokama.
The first phase will decide the fate of several senior leaders, including RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, BJP leaders Samrat Chaudhary and Mangal Pandey, and JDU’s Shravan Kumar and Vijay Kumar Chaudhary. Tej Pratap Yadav is also contesting in the first phase.
