New Delhi, Nov 6 (UNI) Bihar recorded an overall voter turnout of 42.31 percent at 1 pm during the first phase of its crucial assembly elections today, the Election Commission of India reported via its Voter Turnout App.
Gopalganj registered the highest turnout of 46.73 percent, while the state capital Patna recorded the lowest at 37.32 percent.
The first phase covers 121 of Bihar’s 243 assembly constituencies in a high-stakes triangular contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party–led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress-led Mahagathbandhan, and Prashant Kishor’s newly formed Jan Suraaj Party.
Polling began at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm in most areas, with some closing at 5 pm. Over 3.75 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots in this phase, which is especially significant for smaller parties in both alliances.
The CPI(ML) is contesting 20 seats, half of which fall under this phase, including six they currently hold. Within the NDA, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) contests 29 seats, ten in this phase, but currently holds only one of them—a distribution that has caused tension with NDA ally JD(U).
Prominent contenders in this phase include Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav, several BJP and JD(U) ministers including Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, and popular cultural figures like folk singer Maithili Thakur (BJP-Aliganj), Bhojpuri superstar Khesari Lal Yadav (RJD-Chhapra), and Ritesh Pandey (Jan Suraaj Party-Kargahar).
Amidst the polling, the RJD alleged on platform X that electricity cuts at Mahagathbandhan strongholds were deliberately slowing voter turnout, calling on the Election Commission to act promptly against what it described as “malicious and malafide” rigging attempts.
However, the Bihar Chief Electoral Officer dismissed these charges as “completely baseless and misleading,” assuring that polling is progressing smoothly across all stations. “The Election Commission of India is following all standard protocols to ensure that the voting process is fair, transparent, and uninterrupted,” the official said.
As Bihar moves through its election phases, the first round’s voter turnout and political drama set the tone for what promises to be a closely fought contest with far-reaching implications for the state’s political future.
