The second phase of voting on 94 seats in Bihar’s assembly elections passed peacefully on Tuesday with a voter turnout of more than 54.64 percent, slightly lower than the 2015 figure as COVID-19 failed curb the democratic spirit of citizens. The second round of voting took place in all 17 districts amid tight security measures and strict guidelines on the coronavirus.
The voting percentage at 10:30 pm was 54.64, according to provisional data from the electoral assistance applications of the electoral commissions. The percentage of surveys is likely to increase as the survey panel updates the figure with more input from these districts.
The percentage of votes in the respective seats in the 2015 elections was 56.17, according to figures from the Electoral Commission. Prominent personalities such as Governor Phagu Chauhan, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his Deputy Sushil Kumar Modi, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Tejashwi Yadav, Shatrughan Sinha and LJP President Chirag Paswan cast their votes in their respective polling stations.
Among districts, Muzaffarpur (59.98) recorded the highest percentage of votes, followed by West Champaran (59.69), while the state capital, Patna, recorded the lowest turnout at 48.24 percent. The highest percentage of votes among constituencies was recorded in West Champarans Chanpatia (63.62), followed by Samastipurs Ujiarpur (62.2).
According to data from the Electoral Commission, the three electoral districts with the lowest voting percentage – Kumhrar (36.4), Bankipur (35.9), Digha (34.5) – – are all in Patna. However, the state capitals, another urban constituency, Patna Sahib, registered a 50.6 vote share.
According to the Electoral Commission, more than 2.85 million voters were eligible to decide the electoral fate of 1,463 candidates: 1,316 men, 146 women, and one transgender. In addition, the chief ministerial candidate of the opposition of the Great Alliance Tejashwi Yadav of the seat of Raghopur, his older brother Tej Pratap Yadav (Hasanpur) was also in the fray at this stage along with four ministers of state: BJPs Nand Kishore Yadav ( Patna Sahib) and Rana Randhir Singh. (Madhuban) and JDUs Shrawan Kumar (Nalanda) Ramsevak Singh (Hathua).
Also in the fray was Chandrika Roy (JDU), the father of Tej Pratap Yadav’s estranged wife, Aishwarya Rai, from Parsa. The Electoral Commission had installed a total of 41,362 booths in 18,823 polling stations.
The survey panel said 375 control units, 333 voting units and 647 VVPAT machines were changed during the mock voting. Subsequently 152 control units, 219 voting units and 540 VVPAT were changed. “The polls passed peacefully,” the polling panel said.
The survey panel said that of 18,223 buildings that housed polling stations, 986 were in naxal-affected areas and that sixty-two people were pre-trial detained. The voting panel had established 634 model voting centers.
The vote began at 7 a.m., but the time for its conclusion was extended by one hour to 6 p.m. to make it easier for COVID-19 patients and those with symptoms of the disease to exercise their franchise during the last hour. In the last hour of voting, some people were seen casting their votes in PPE kits at a voting center in Begusarai.
Voting ended at 4pm in eight seats: Gaura Bauram and Kusheshwar Asthan in Darbhanga district; Minapur, Paroo and Sahebganj in Muzaffarpur; Alauli and Beldour in Khagaria; and Raghopur in Vaishali, either for its naxal history or for its reverine environment. Among the major parties, the RJD had run its candidates in 56 of 94 seats, while its ally, Congress, contested 24. The CPI and CPI (M), which recently joined the Great Alliance, fought for four seats each.
BJP candidates were in the fray in 46 of the seats, while their ally JDU had submitted 43. Mukesh Sahnis VIP, the last participant in the NDA, was contesting the remaining five. The LJP was contesting 52 seats, including the two it had won in 2015 competing as a constituent of the NDA. The party had also put forward a transgender candidate at this stage.
The Maharajganj constituency had the maximum of 27 candidates at this stage, while the minimum of four were from the Darauli (SC) constituency. Among the districts of Muzaffarpur, (59.98) registered the highest percentage of votes, followed by West Champaran (59.69), Begusarai (58.82), Samastipur (58.49), East Champaran (56.75), Sitamarhi (57.40) Khagaria (56.10), Sheohar (56.04)), Vaishali (55.90), Gopalganj (55.09), Bhagalpur (54.85), Madhubani, (54.72) Darbhanga (54.15), Saran (54.15), Siwan (51.88), Nalanda (51.06) and Patna (48.24).
Meanwhile, 34-year-old Sashastra Seema Bal jawan Shailesh Kumar Singh died after he was struck by an unidentified vehicle while on his way to attend elections in the East Champaran district, police said. In addition, 55-year-old BSF deputy inspector KR Bhai, who was on duty at a voting booth at the Lalganj assembly seat, died of a heart attack, police and hospital sources said.
In Khagaria district, a 106-year-old woman cast her vote at her post in Rampur village in Parbatta constituency.
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