The voter turnout in the third and final phase of Bihar elections was recorded at 57.58% on November 7, more than the polling percentage witnessed in the previous two rounds, according to Election Commission data.
The provisional turnout in the third phase of polling on 78 seats spread in 15 districts is 57.58%, according to poll panel data updated till 8 p.m. The polling percentage will go up as more inputs from the constituencies come.
According to Election Commission figures, the final voter turnout in the first phase of polling held on October 28 was 55.68%, while it was 55.70% in the second phase of polls held on November 3.
In the first phase, 71 seats spread across 16 districts went to poll, while in the second, voters in 94 seats of 17 districts exercised their franchise on November 3.
With the voting concluding for all the 243 seats, the focus now shifts to November 10 counting of votes which will give Bihar a new government.
PM Modi’s appeal to Bihar voters
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 7 appealed to voters for the last phase of polls in Bihar to cast their votes in maximum numbers and set a new record.
In a tweet, he also asked them to wear masks and maintain social distancing.
Polling officers collect Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and other materials before leaving for their election duty, ahead of the third and last leg of Bihar Assembly polls, in Muzaffarpur district. | Photo Credit: PTI
Voting is simultaneously taking place for the Valmiki Nagar Lok Sabha seat in West Champaran district where a by-election has been necessitated by the death of the sitting JD(U) MP Baidyanath Mahto.
Of the total 2.35 voters in the 78 Assembly segments, spread across 15 districts of north Bihar, 1.23 are men, 1.12 crore are women while 894 are in the third gender category, according to statistics provided by the Election Commission.
In addition, re-poll is being held at two polling stations of Hisua Assembly segment in Nalanda district where votes were cast in the second phase on November 3, the Election commission said.
It said the re-poll has been necessitated by the EVMS getting damaged in a road accident.
Among the candidates in the fray, 37 belong to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), 35 to the BJP, while five are contesting on tickets of junior NDA ally Vikassheel Insaan Party and one from the Hindustani Awam Morcha.
The candidates of the JD(U)-BJP include the Assembly Speaker and 12 members of the state cabinet.
The main opposition RJD is fighting 46 seats in the final phase, while its ally Congress is in the fray in 25. Ultra-Left outfit CPI(ML), which has joined the RJD-led Grand Alliance along with CPI and CPI(M), is contesting five seats in the final phase.
A notable Congress candidate in this phase is Subhashini Yadav (30), veteran socialist leader Sharad Yadav’s daughter who is making her debut from Bihariganj which falls under Madhepura Lok Sabha seat, represented by her father a number of times.
Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party is in the fray on 42 seats, including Govindganj, which it holds and where it is pitted against the BJP, which it claims to be supporting while being opposed to the JD(U).
The final phase of elections is also noteworthy because of the role the Owaisi factor might play.
Headed by fiery Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, the AIMIM had registered a stunning victory in Kishanganj last year, defeating the Congress candidate whose son’s election to Lok Sabha had necessitated the by-poll.
The AIMIM is in the fray in more than a dozen seats, mostly in the Kosi-Seemanchal region which is densely populated and has a high percentage of Muslim residents.
The NDA hopes that the party’s ability to cut into Muslim votes will weaken the RJD and help the JD(U)-BJP combine.
Voting for the first phase was held on October 28 and for the second phase on November 3. Results will be out on November 10.
(With inputs from Amarnath Tewary)