Bihar Election Phase 1 Ends Amid Clashes and 60% Turnout—What Happens Next?

A turnout of 60.13 per cent was recorded till 5 p.m. on Thursday during the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections on 121 seats, according to the Election Commission of India data.

Among the 18 districts where polling was held, Begusarai district topped with 67.32 per cent voting, followed by Samastipur district with 66.65 per cent and Madhepura with 65.74 per cent till 5 p.m.

Begusarai district's Bachhwara seat (Assembly constituency 142) recorded the highest turnout of 69.67 per cent till 5 p.m., ECI data said.

Though polling closes at 5 p.m., voters who had joined the queue before the stipulated time will be allowed to vote.

Women voters in large numbers were seen waiting to exercise their suffrage since early Thursday morning.

In recent times, Bihar has earned the distinction of recording a high female voter turnout.

Among the incidents of violence and attacks, perhaps the worst incident occurred in Lakhisarai, where the convoy of Deputy Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Vijay Kumar Sinha was reportedly surrounded and pelted with stones and slippers.

This led to tense scenes with loud verbal duels between BJP and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supporters, even as security personnel stepped in to restore order.

Deputy Chief Minister Sinha accused the RJD supporters of orchestrating the attack and alleged on-ground intimidation of his agents, framing the episode as evidence of a "booth-capture mindset".

Meanwhile, the RJD and other Opposition parties made separate allegations over "targeted disruptions" at certain booths elsewhere in the state.

The Bihar Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Vinod Singh Gunjiyal, dismissed several allegations raised by the Opposition, including the RJD's charges of deliberate power cuts at "strong booths of the Mahagathbandhan with the intention of slowing down the voting".

In a strong rebuttal, the poll body termed it "completely baseless and misleading".

In a social media post on X, the CEO said that voting "is taking place smoothly at all polling stations in Bihar".

It added that the "The Election Commission of India is following all standard protocols to ensure that the voting process is fair, transparent, and uninterrupted".

In another instance, the RJD posted statements from three voters alleging that in "Sahibganj-98 Assembly Constituency of Muzaffarpur district at booth number 147", these electors were told that that their votes had already been cast.

The same voters were later seen on a post from Bihar CEO showing their inked fingers and saying they had actually exercised their democratic rights.

The poll body kept posting updates stressing that voters were exercising their franchise without obstruction and that administration teams were monitoring polling stations closely.

In the first phase of polls, 121 Assembly constituencies went for polls across 18 districts where 1,314 candidates are in the fray.

The contest is largely between the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Janata Dal-United leader and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and the Opposition Mahagathbandhan bloc led by RJD's Tejashwi Yadav.

The presence of Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party this time may play a disruptor and influence the outcome in several seats.

Among candidates in this phase are the Mahagathbandhan's Chief Ministerial candidate Tejashwai, BJP nominees Samrat Chaudhury and Vijay Kumar Sinha -- both incumbent Deputy Chief Ministers, State JD-U President Umesh Kushwaha and RJD's Bhola Yadav, a close aide of party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Also in the fray are Bhojpuri actor Khesari Lal Yadav (RJD) and popular folk singer Maithili Thakur (BJP).

The election in Mokama will also be followed closely where JD-U candidate Anant Singh was taken in custody on charges of the murder of Dularchand Yadav recently while the latter was campaigning for JSP candidate Priyadarshi Piyush.

- IANS