57% TURNOUT IN BIHAR POLLS PHASE 1
BRISK VOTING First round of polling peaceful, sees higher turnout than in 2010
Women line up outside a booth to vote in the first phase of Bihar elections in Samastipur district on Monday. Voting was largely peaceful in 49 constituencies with women voters outnumbering men by 5%. The second phase of polling for the 243-member House will be held on Oct 16.
PATNA: Millions of people defied a boycott call by Maoists to cast their votes in Bihar on Monday during the first phase of an assembly election seen as a test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity with a BJP-led coalition taking on an alliance headed by chief minister Nitish Kumar.
Over 57% of the close to 13.5 million people eligible to vote in this phase showed up at poll booths, with large turnouts beating expectations in areas like Sheikhpura and Munger that are in the grips of left-wing extremism.
A candidate from BJP ally Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) escaped unhurt after being shot at in the Jamui constituency during voting which was largely peaceful across the state. In a separate incident, 15 people were injured in clashes between members of two rival alliances in the same district.
“This year’s turnout is 6.15% more than the 2010 turnout,” said chief election officer of Bihar, Ajay V Nayak, adding that women outnumbered men by a significant margin.The first phase is crucial for the BJP, which won just 13 of the 49 seats five years ago, but in alliance with the JD (U). This time, it contested 27 seats while allies LJP, RLSP and HAM-S fought on 13, six and three. The Grand Alliance, too, would be pinning its hopes on this phase as Nitish Kumar’s party won 30 seats in its previous outing.
Analysts said the turn out indicated members of the extremely backwardclasses( EB Cs) came out to vote in large numbers but refrained from commenting on which alliance was likely to benefit with opinion polls predicting a close finish.
Forty-nine of the state’s 243 assembly constituencies went to the polls that will be held in five phases with the votes to be counted on November 8. A win will boost Modi’s bid to push crucial reforms legislation through Parliament as state elections allot seats to the Rajya Sabha where the ruling combine is in a minority.
A loss, however, would further bruise his aura of invincibility months after the B JP was decimated by the upstart Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Delhi polls.
The polling took place amid the BJP facing allegations from rivals of attempting to polarise voters with sporadic violence over cowslaughter rumours in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, while the ruling JD(U) faced embarrassment when a minister was purportedly caught on camera accepting a bribe.