Bihar polls: 60.13 pc turnout in 1st phase of voting till 5 p.m.

New Delhi, Nov 6 (IANS) A turnout of 60.13 per cent was recorded till 5 p.m. on Thursday during the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections on 121 seats, according to the Election Commission of India data.

Among the 18 districts where polling was held, Begusarai district topped with 67.32 per cent voting, followed by Samastipur district with 66.65 per cent and Madhepura with 65.74 per cent till 5 p.m.

Begusarai district’s Bachhwara seat (AC 142) recorded the highest turnout of 69.67 per cent till 5 p.m., said ECI data.

Over 53.77 per cent of eligible electors had cast their votes by 3 p.m. Patna district recorded the most sluggish polling, with turnout reaching 48.69 per cent till 3 p.m.

Among the seven Assembly constituencies in Begusarai district, Cherai-Bariarpur (AC 141) recorded the highest turnout of 62.55 per cent by 3 p.m. It was followed by Bachhwara (AC 142) with 60.98 per cent voting percentage till 3 p.m. and Teghra (AC 143) with 60.27 per cent turnout.

The turnout in Bhojpur district at 3 p.m. was 50.07 per cent, Buxar 51.69 per cent, Darbhanga 51.75 per cent, Gopalganj 58.17 per cent, Khagaria 54.77 per cent, Lakhisarai 57.39 per cent, Madhepura 55.96 per cent, Munger 52.17 per cent, Muzaffarpur 58.40 per cent, Nalanda 52.32 per cent, Patna 48.69 per cent, Saharsa 55.22 per cent, Samastipur 56.35 per cent, Saran 54.60 per cent, Sheikhpur 49.37 per cent, Siwan 50.93 per cent and Vaishali 53.63 per cent.

The average voter turnout by 1 p.m. was 42.31 per cent across 121 Assembly constituencies spread across 18 districts, said the ECI.

An average voter turnout of 27.65 per cent was recorded till 11 a.m. on Thursday, across 18 districts, according to the Chief Electoral Officer.

While Begusarai district (30.37 per cent), Lakhisarai (30.32 per cent), Saharsa (29.68 per cent), and Muzaffarpur (29.66 per cent) witnessed comparatively higher participation, several other districts also reported moderate to encouraging polling figures by mid-morning.

Polling across these regions remained largely peaceful, with no major incidents being reported.

A total of 1,314 candidates -- including 1,192 men and 122 women -- are in the fray in this phase. The Election Commission stated that 3.75 crore electors, comprising 1.98 crore men, 1.76 crore women, and 758 third-gender voters, are eligible to vote across 45,341 polling stations, of which 36,733 are in rural and 8,608 in urban areas.

The ECI has designated 320 model booths, 926 women-managed stations, and 107 managed by persons with disabilities. Webcasting facilities have been set up in all polling stations for real-time monitoring.

Over 15 battalions of police and paramilitary forces have been deployed across the 18 districts, with special attention to sensitive and Naxal-affected areas where voting will conclude an hour earlier, at 5 p.m. Mock polling exercises were conducted early in the morning to verify systems before the start of voting.

--IANS

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