64.46% voter turnout recorded in phase 1 voting in Bihar
What's the story
Bihar's first phase of assembly elections has recorded a voter turnout of 64.46%, with a total electorate of over 3.75 crore, the Election Commission of India announced. The election covered 121 seats across 18 districts. According to Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor, this is the highest polling in the last 30 years. In a press statement, Bihar Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Gunjyal said 143 complaints were received, and all of them were resolved on time.
Election details
Key constituencies and leaders
Notable leaders contesting in this phase include Tejashwi Prasad Yadav (RJD), Samrat Choudhary and Mangal Pandey (BJP), Shravan Kumar and Vijay Kumar Choudhary (JD(U)). The first phase will decide the fate of several senior leaders, including RJD's Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Mangal Pandey, and JD(U)'s Shravan Kumar and Vijay Kumar Choudhary.
Incidents
Deputy CM's convoy attacked
No untoward incidents were reported during the day, except for a brief hullabaloo when supporters of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) allegedly surrounded the car of Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha, hurling slippers, stones and cow dung. "These are RJD's goons. They know the NDA is returning to power; that's why they have resorted to hooliganism.We will run bulldozers on their chest," Sinha said. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has directed Bihar DGP to take strict action against the miscreants.
Others
Union minister stirs row
In the morning, Union Minister Giriraj Singh stirred controversy by stating that if there are any doubts about the identity of burqa-clad women while voting, their faces must be revealed. "When a woman in a burqa goes to get Aadhaar card made....doesn't she lift it? When she goes to receive government benefits, doesn't she lift it?" He said, "Is this Pakistan or Bangladesh...This is a secular country. If anyone has doubts here, we will make them show their face."
Development
Power-cuts claimsÂ
Another development that made headlines was when the RJD claimed that electricity was intermittently cut off at the polling station with massive Mahagathbandhan support. In a post on X, the party claimed that this was done with the intention of slowing down the voting. The Election Commission promptly reacted to the allegation. "This allegation is completely baseless and misleading. Voting is taking place smoothly at all polling stations in Bihar," the Bihar Electoral Officer wrote on X.
Historical context
NDA vs Grand Alliance in 2020 elections
In the 2020 elections, the National Democratic Alliance won 125 seats while the opposition Mahagathbandhan won 110. The Janata Dal (United) won 43 seats, the BJP won 74, the RJD bagged 75 and Congress got 19. The second phase of voting for the remaining 122 constituencies will be held on November 11 with vote counting on November 14.