Polling for the first phase of the high-stakes Bihar Assembly elections was held on Thursday across 121 constituencies in 18 districts, with over 3.75 crore voters eligible to cast their ballots for 1,314 candidates. Voting commenced at 7 a.m. and continued until 5 p.m. at 45,341 polling stations, the majority of which were situated in rural areas.
Early trends suggested an encouraging start. By 11 a.m., around 27.65% of voters had already exercised their franchise. District-level participation showed varied engagement:
- Begusarai 30.37%,
- Lakhisarai 30.32%,
- Gopalganj 30.04%,
- Saharsa 29.68%,
- Muzaffarpur 29.66%,
- Vaishali 28.67%,
- Khagaria 28.96%,
- Saran 28.52%
- Patna 23.71%
- Nalanda 26.86%
- Sivan 28.67%
Observers noted a steady voter turnout throughout the day, with young and first-time voters contributing significantly to the numbers. While final figures from the Election Commission are still awaited, officials reported that polling remained largely peaceful across all districts.
Looking back at the 2020 Assembly elections, the same constituencies had seen a turnout of approximately 54.3%. In that cycle, the RJD emerged as the front-runner, securing 42 seats, followed by the BJP with 32, JD(U) with 23, Congress with 8, and Left parties with 11 seats. The RJD’s vote share in these areas stood at 23.8%, while both the BJP and JD(U) captured around 17% each.
RJD Claims ELectricity Cuts Happening
The RJD has alleged that electricity supply was being intermittently cut at its strong polling booths in an attempt to deliberately slow down voting. The party urged the Election Commission to take immediate action, calling the issue a serious threat to fair polling. However, the Bihar Election Commission dismissed the claims as “completely baseless and misleading.”
Meanwhile, the Raghopur constituency is witnessing a high-stakes battle, with Tejashwi Yadav facing off against BJP’s Satish Kumar, who famously defeated his mother, Rabri Devi, in the 2010 elections. In the neighbouring Mahua seat, Tejashwi’s estranged elder brother, Tej Pratap Yadav, is set to challenge the sitting RJD MLA Mukesh Raushan, adding another layer of drama to Bihar’s political landscape.
