Phase I voting ends, Bihar records 60.13% voter turnout by 5 pm

The voting for the first phase of the Bihar elections concluded on Thursday, as citizens cast their ballots in 121 of the 243 assembly seats. According to Bihar's Chief Electoral Officer, the polling percentage stood at 60.13% by 5 pm, with the highest turnout recorded in Gopalganj, and the lowest in Patna. 

The initial phase is crucial for both the coalitions, including the NDA and the INDIA bloc, as well as the smaller parties. CPI (ML) is contesting on 10 seats, and NDA's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) on 10, are the smaller parties in fray. 

Moreover, the fate of several top leaders will also be decided in this phase, with over 1,314 of them on the battlefield. This includes Mahagathbandhan's Chief Ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav (Raghopur), Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary (Tarapur) and Vijay Kumar Sinha (Lakhisarai), Lalu's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav (Mahua), folk singer Maithili Thakur (Alinagar), Bhojpuri superstars Khesari Lal Yadav (Chhapra), Ritesh Pandey (Kargahar), and JD(U)'s Anant Singh (Mokama). 

The eighteen districts voting during the first phase are Patna, Darbhanga, Madhepura, Saharsa, Muzaffarpur, Siwan, Gopalganj, Saran, Vaishali, Samastipur, Begusarai, Lakhisarai, Munger, Sheikhpura, Nalanda, Buxar, and Bhojpur. 

Meanwhile, Home Minister Amit Shah addressed back-to-back election rallies in Madhubani, West Champaran, and Motihari districts. In his speech, he launched a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi, saying, "Rahul Gandhi should be ashamed for seeking to know about the caste and religion of Army jawans. We do not discriminate among military personnel on the basis of caste or creed." 

And Rahul Gandhi alleged that BJP will "steal votes" in Bihar, which has to be stopped by the youth. He stated, "We have shown the entire world that the BJP and the Election Commission have stolen the Haryana election. I am sure that they would try to steal votes in Bihar, too. It is the responsibility of Bihar's youth to stop this, and save the Constitution...all of you need to be cautious at the polling booths." 

Bihar Minister Mangal Pandey highlighted that the NDA will emerge as a strong front. RLD Chief Jayant Choudhary echoed the same. While Tej Pratap Yadav, founder of Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD) pointed out that his party will emerge as a "serious political force" after the Bihar elections.  

The elections took place amid a controversial SIR of electoral rolls. The next phase of the assembly polls in the eastern state will be conducted on November 11, with the counting scheduled on November 14.