Bihar Assembly Elections: First Phase Wraps Up Amid Minor Clashes and High Voter Turnout

Bihar Assembly Elections Kick Off with High Engagement

New Delhi: The initial phase of the Bihar Assembly elections concluded on Thursday, marked by reports of minor clashes, while the Election Commission dismissed claims of power outages and fraudulent voting during the election process.

As per the Election Commission of India, a voter turnout of 60.13% was recorded by 5 PM on Thursday across 121 seats.

Among the 18 districts participating in the polling, Begusarai led with a turnout of 67.32%, followed closely by Samastipur at 66.65% and Madhepura at 65.74% by the same hour.

The Bachhwara seat in Begusarai district achieved the highest turnout of 69.67% by 5 PM, according to ECI statistics.

Polling officially ended at 5 PM, but those who were in line before the cutoff were permitted to cast their votes.

A significant number of women voters were observed waiting to exercise their right to vote from early morning.

Bihar has recently gained recognition for its impressive female voter turnout.

Among the reported incidents of violence, the most severe occurred in Lakhisarai, where Deputy Chief Minister and BJP candidate Vijay Kumar Sinha's convoy was allegedly attacked with stones and slippers.

This incident led to heated exchanges between supporters of the BJP and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), prompting security forces to intervene.

Sinha accused RJD supporters of orchestrating the attack and claimed that his agents faced intimidation, suggesting a 'booth-capture mindset.'

In response, the RJD and other opposition parties raised concerns about 'targeted disruptions' at various polling booths across the state.

Bihar's Chief Electoral Officer, Vinod Singh Gunjiyal, rejected several allegations from the opposition, including claims of intentional power cuts at 'strong booths of the Mahagathbandhan' aimed at hindering voting.

The Election Commission labeled these allegations as 'completely baseless and misleading.'

In a post on social media platform X, the CEO confirmed that voting was proceeding smoothly at all polling stations in Bihar.

The Commission emphasized that it is adhering to all standard protocols to ensure a fair, transparent, and uninterrupted voting process.

In another instance, the RJD shared statements from three voters claiming they were informed that their votes had already been cast at booth number 147 in the Sahibganj-98 Assembly Constituency of Muzaffarpur district.

However, these voters were later seen in a post from the Bihar CEO showing their inked fingers, confirming they had indeed voted.

The Election Commission continued to provide updates, assuring that voters were exercising their rights without hindrance and that monitoring teams were closely observing polling stations.

During this first phase, elections were held for 121 Assembly constituencies across 18 districts, with 1,314 candidates contesting.

The primary contest is between the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal-United, and the opposition Mahagathbandhan bloc, spearheaded by RJD's Tejashwi Yadav.

The presence of Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party could potentially disrupt and influence outcomes in several constituencies.

Notable candidates in this phase include Tejashwi Yadav from the Mahagathbandhan, BJP's Samrat Chaudhury and Vijay Kumar Sinha (both current Deputy Chief Ministers), JD-U President Umesh Kushwaha, and RJD's Bhola Yadav, a close associate of party leader Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Also contesting are Bhojpuri actor Khesari Lal Yadav (RJD) and popular folk singer Maithili Thakur (BJP).

The election in Mokama is particularly noteworthy, as JD-U candidate Anant Singh was recently taken into custody for the murder of Dularchand Yadav, who was campaigning for JSP candidate Priyadarshi Piyush.