16 Delegates from 6 Countries witness Polling across 121 Assembly Constituencies in 18 districts calls it to be the most well-organised, transparent, efficient, and participative elections
Over 4 lakh polling related staff who took positions at their respective polling stations by 11:20 p.m. last night itself successfully conducted the first phase of polling to elect members of the legislative assembly of Bihar. Mock polls were completed before 7:00 a.m. today in the presence of over 6,792 polling agents appointed by 1,314 contesting candidates and polling began peacefully at all 45,341 polling stations simultaneously. In a written statement to the press issued by the Deputy Director P. Pawan, Election Commission of India, it is reported that The first phase of the Bihar legislative assembly elections conducted peacefully in a festive mood today with the highest ever voter turnout of 64.66% in the history of Bihar.
53.77 per cent votes by 3 p.m.
At around 3 p.m. the Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar, reported that a total of 53.77 per cent votes were cast. Begusarai topped the list by registering 59.82 per cent votes. Followed by Muzaffarpur 58.40, Gopalganj 58.17, Lakhisarai 57.39, Samastipur 56.35, Madhepura 55.96, Saharsa 55.22, Khagaria 54.77, Saran 54.60, Vaishali 53.63, Nalanda 52.32, Munger 52.17, Darbhanga 51.75, Buxar 51.69, Siwan 50.93, Bhojpur 50.07. While Sheikhpura 49.37, and Patna 48.69 remained below the mark of 50 per cent.
Fate of 1,314 Candidates in 121 Assembly Constituency Sealed
For a total of 121 Assembly Constituencies in 18 districts in the state a total electorate of over 3.75 crore went to polls today under tight security and digital surveillance. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar along with election Commissioner Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi kept a close watch on the polling through live webcasting which has been ensured in 100% of the polling stations for the first time in Bihar. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar personally engaged with the presiding officer and District Election Officers from the control room in ECI to ensure that the polling progressed smoothly.
International Delegates Witnessed First Phase of Bihar Polls
In one of the first of its kind in the history of Bihar, its assembly elections were witnessed by delegates from 6 countries. As part of the International Election Visitors Program (IEVP) 16 delegates from 6 countries namely South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Belgium, and Columbia witnessed the poll proceedings. The delegates commended the Bihar elections for being internationally one of the most well-organised, transparent, efficient, and participative elections.
90,000 Female Volunteers and Strong Security makes it smooth
For safety reasons borders of all districts were sealed and a large number of security personnel were deployed along the border of Nepal. Over 90,000 Jeevika Didi’s (female volunteers) along with one CAPF personnel were deployed across all polling stations for the identification of Purdahnasheen women. Approximately 450,000 security personnel have been deployed for the first phase of election; including 1500 companies of Central forces.