36.2% polling in 8 PCs of Bihar till 1 pm

Speed Post News Network

Patna : Nearly 36.2 % of over 1.52 crore voters had exercised their franchise till 1 pm in eight parliamentary constituencies (PCs) in Bihar that went o polls in the 7th phase of General Elections on May 19, 2019. The polling began at 7 am at 15,811 booths in the 8 PCs:  Nalanda, Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Ara, Buxar, Jehanabad, Sasaram (SC), and Karakat, amid tight security arrangements. Altogether 157 candidates, including four Union ministers, are in the fray in the seventh and last phase of phase of the General Elections.

Voting is also underway for bypoll to Dehri Assembly seat in Rohtas district, which fell vacant last year following  the disqualification of RJD MLA and former minister Mohd Ilyas Husain after he was convicted in the bitumen scam by a Ranchi court.

The polling process was temporarily hampered at few polling stations in Ara, Sasaram, Jehanabad, Pataliputra, and Buxar PCs due to EVM glitches. The poll officials attended to the complaints and redressed the grievances.
Prominent candidates whose electoral fate will be sealed on May 19 include Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, his Congress rival Shatrughan Sinha (Patna Sahib), Union minister Ram Kripal Yadav and his RJD rival Dr Misa Bharti (Pataliputra), Union ministers Ashwini Kumar Choubey (Buxar) and R K Singh (Ara) and former Lok Sabha Speaker and  Congress leader Meira Kumar (Sasaram).

Among the early voters in Patna were, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi and Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. Keshav Singh, an 113 year old person exercised his franchise in Ara PC.

In Jharkhand, 52.89 % polling was recorded in three PCs till 1 pm.