With Phase 1 of the Bihar Elections voting underway, a polling crisis in Patna is making headlines. Two women in Patna have alleged that they were denied the right to vote at the Veterinary College Ground polling booth today, despite carrying valid identification.
The women claimed that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) refused to allow them to cast their ballots because they did not possess printed voter slips, reported PTI.
One of the complainants, Shreya, recounted her ordeal, saying, “The BLO didn’t give me my voter slip, and now they’re saying it’s my fault. They told me to download it digitally, but here they’re insisting it has to be shown in person. I wasn’t provided the slip today, I don’t even know why. Now it’s getting late, so I’m leaving. I came here to vote, but this kind of chaos happens every time in Bihar.”
The incident drew attention to recurring administrative lapses during polling in Bihar, where confusion over voter slips, long queues, and inadequate crowd management have often led to frustration among voters.
Phase One Polls and High-Profile Voters
As the first phase of polling continued across the state, several political heavyweights turned up early to exercise their franchise. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and INDIA bloc’s CM candidate Tejashwi Yadav voted alongside his family, including RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, at the same Veterinary College booth where the alleged voting row occurred.
Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, Union Minister Giriraj Singh, and State Road Construction Minister Nitin Nabin also cast their votes at their respective constituencies. Nabin was accompanied by his wife, Deepmala Srivastava, at a polling booth in Patna’s Digha constituency.
Elsewhere, RJD’s singer-turned-politician Khesari Lal Yadav voted in Ekma, Saran district, while BJP leader Bikhu Bhai Dalsania was among the early voters. In a lighter moment, a candidate in Vaishali arrived at his polling station riding a buffalo, urging citizens to participate enthusiastically in the democratic process.