NEW DELHI/PATNA: Bihar witnessed a record 60 per cent polling in its fifth and final phase of the assembly election even as the state registered an overall polling figure of 56.80 per cent, which is the highest ever in an Assembly election in the state’s history.
A total of 57 constituencies in nine districts of Bihar went to polls on Thursday.
“While the total poll percentage for the fifth phase of polls is 60 percent, the overall figures for all the five phases in Bihar has been calculated at 56.80 percent,” Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha said.
Elections to the 243-seat Bihar Assembly Assembly began on October 12 while counting of votes will take place on November 8.The poll panel said this year’s assembly poll in all the five rounds saw women outnumbering men in the turnout — 59.92 per cent against 54.07 per cent. Polling in the final phase on Thursday also saw women’s turnout ahead of men — 63.60 per cent against 56.05 per cent. Katihar was the district that witnessed highest turnout at 67.27 per cent.
Sinha added that the entire poll process in the state in all the 243 seats was conducted in a peaceful manner without any major untoward incident.
In all, 827 candidates including senior ministers Bijendra Prasad Yadav (Supual), Narendra Narayan Yadav (Alamnagar), RJD Legislature Party leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui (Alinagar), Lalu Prasad’s ‘Man Friday’ Bhola Yadav (Bahadurpur), and BJP candidate and former minister Nitish Mishra (Jhanjharpur) were in the fray in the fifth phase.
Thursday’s polling covered 24 seats in Seemanchal which has substantial Muslim presence. MP Asaduddin Owaisi’s party AIMIM was contesting six seats in this belt to test poll waters in Bihar for the first time.
Janadhikar party of Madhepura MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav fielded 46 candidates in the fifth phase and their doing well may put into jeopardy the Grand Alliance’s attempt to retain Bihar.
For NDA, BJP fielded the maximum of 38 candidates, while LJP nominees contested 11 seats, Rashtriya Lok Samata Party of Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha five and Hindustani Awam Morcha of former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi three. JD(U) candidates tried their luck in 25 seats, RJD in 20 and Congress 12.
Meanwhile, RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Thursday said Nitish Kumar will be the Chief Minister even if his aprty wins more seats than JD(U).
“Nitish Kumar will be the Chief Minister,” Lalu said, in response to a question on who will head the government if RJD wins the maximum seats among Grand Alliance partners. He, however, dodged a question on whether his party would demand the deputy chief minister’s post.
“Let the results come and everything can be thought upon later. I am already out of race. Whatever work had to be done by me has been done,” the RJD supremo added.
After the voting for a high-pitched poll battle came to an end, Prasad claimed that the Grand Alliance of JD(U), RJD and Congress will get two-thirds majority and the BJP will get anything between 10 and 40 seats. “The Grand Alliance will win more than 190 seats. Ninety per cent of the backward classes, Dalits, minorities and the poorer section of the upper caste have voted for us. Our good spell started from phase 1 and was satisfactory.
“In phases 2,3 and 4, the BJP-led alliance had put in a lot of effort and also had a influence in those regions, but I stayed put in these areas and ensured that they are wiped out,” the former Bihar Chief Minister said.
Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lalu said the BJP had tried to raise the beef issue but it did not work.
Raking up the comments made on reservations by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Lalu said the BJP tried to fiddle with the reservation system following which the entire state was now boiling.
“If they think backward votes have been divided then it is wrong,” he said.