Speed Post News Network
Patna : Bihar recorded over 50 % voter turnout till 5 pm in the first phase of State assembly polls in 71 constituencies in 16 districts on October 28, 2020, according to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora.the Election Commission said in its provisional data.The voting ended at 6 pm.
A total of 71 assembly segments of the state’s 243 constituencies voted in the first phase in which nearly 2.15 crore voters were to decide the electoral fate of over 1,000 candidates. The voter turnout was low in the beginning, but it picked momentum with the time everywhere.The maximum 55.95 % turnout was recorded in Kaimur, followed by 55.44 % in Lakhisarai, Buxar (53.84 per cent), Bhagalpur (52.16 per cent), and Patna (51.02 per cent) among others.
Union minister and senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh cast his vote at a polling booth in Lakhisarai, while former Bihar chief minister and HAM president Jitan Ram Manjhi exercised his franchise at a booth in Gaya. State ministers and also candidates from different constituencies- Vijay Sinha and Krishnandan Verma- and commonwealth games gold medal winning shooter Shreyasi Singh, BJP nominee from Jamui seat, also cast their vote. In Dinara assembly constituency in Rohtas District, a group of women expressed happiness after exercising franchise.
Polling time was curtailed in the naxal-affected areas. Out of the 71 constituencies, 35 are in naxal-hit areas where polling was conducted in a staggered manner.