Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Bihar recorded an overall voter turnout of 27.65% in the first phase of polling till 12 pm on November 6. Among the districts, Begusarai registered the highest turnout at 30.37% and state capital Patna reported the lowest at 23.71%.
Elections are being held for 121 out of the total 243 assembly constituencies in a crucial triangular contest between Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (United) led-National Democratic Alliance, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Indian National Congress-led Mahagathbandhan (or Grand Alliance) and Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party. The polling started at 7 am and will conclude at 6 pm and in some places at 5 pm. Several key candidates fielded by both — the ruling NDA and the opposition Mahagathbandhan — are contestisting in high-stakes contests across the state. These include BJP leader and Bihar’s deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary fighting from Tarapur, Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial face and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav fighting from Raghopur, Tejashwi’s brother Tej Pratap fighting from Mahua on the ticket of his own outfit Janshakti Janata Dal, BJP’s Maithili Thakur fighting from Alinagar, and JD(U)’s Anant Singh fighting from Mokama, who is currently in jail in connection with the murder of Jan Suraaj supporter Dularchand Yadav.
Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party is also making its electoral debut with this assembly election, making it a three-way fight. RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav is aiming to continue his winning streak in the Raghopur constituency, where he is up against BJP’s Satish Kumar, who had defeated Yadav’s mother Rabri Devi from the seat in 2010 while he contesting on a JD(U) symbol.
