The coronavirus pandemic did not have much impact on the voter turnout in the first phase of Bihar assembly polls as an estimated 53.54 voters exercised their franchise compared to 54.75 per cent in these districts in 2015.
The polling started early in the morning for 71 assembly seats across 16 districts of the state. As many as 1066 candidates including 952 males and 114 females contested over 71 of 243 seat state assembly.
The 2020 poll percentage is likely to go up as the Election Commission is updating the data with more inputs from 71 constituencies spread across 16 districts. While the voting percentage in these districts was 54.75 in 2015, it was 53.54 (provisional figures) this year, the EC said.
According to the provisional data, the highest poll percentage is recorded in Banka district at 59.57. It had recorded 56.43 per cent out in 2015 polls. Munger district has registered the least voter turnout at 47.36 per cent. It had recorded 52.24 per cent turnout in 2015.
Out of the 71 constituencies, 35 are in Naxal-hit areas where the polling hour was curtailed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted in the morning urging people to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
Polling was conducted till 3 PM in four Naxal-affected constituencies of Chainpur, Nabinagar, Kutumba and Rafiganj while in the other five Naxal-hit constituencies it went up to 5 PM. In the remaining 26 Naxal-affected constituencies, polling was held till 4 PM.
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Of the nearly 2.15 crore electors eligible to exercise the franchise, 1.12 crore are male, 1.01 crore female, and 599 are categorized as the third gender, according to data provided by the Election Commission.
While 33 of the constituencies going to polls in the first phase have been declared as sensitive or hypersensitive constituencies, the poll panel said.
The poll panel said that since the announcement of the elections, 534 arms, 193 cartridges and three bombs were seized from the areas that went to polls in the first phase. As many as 159 people were detained as a preventive measure during the polling on Wednesday, the poll panel said.
As the polling started the IEDs Found Near Polling Booth in Aurangabad. The incident took place in the Dhibra area of Aurangabad. The CRPF team has neutralized the explosives.
With just 5% of the voter turnout in the first few hours of polling, Union Minister Giriraj Singh had to wait for around 40 minutes outside the polling station as the EVM malfunctioned.
With the malfunctions increasing as per reports, across the 31,371 polling stations for Phase1 voting in Bihar assembly elections, 41,689 ballot units, 31,371 control units, and 31,371 Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) were used, and out of those, 0.18 per cent ballot units, 0.26 per cent control units, and 0.53 per cent VVPATs were replaced till 10 am.
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Commonwealth gold medalist Shreyashi Singh and former CM of the state Jitan Ram Manjhi also exercised their franchise. Talking to the media at the polling station, the former CM asserted that the NDA would be sweeping 50 out of the 71 seats.
Meanwhile, RJD candidate from Jamui Vijay Prakash demanded canceling of polling at 55 booths as the EVMs were repeatedly malfunctioning despite being replaced. Prakash blamed the Centre and BJP for the EVMs not working, saying the seat would vote for RJD.
As the leaders took to Twitter, asking the people to vote, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sparked controversy after he tweeted to vote in “Favor of Mahagathbandhan”.
"This time for justice, employment, farmers-workers, your vote should be only for 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance). Good wishes to all of you on the first phase of Bihar elections," he tweeted with the hashtag in Hindi 'Aaj Badlega Bihar'.
While LJP chief Chirag Paswan, targeting Nitish Kumar, said that every single vote to JDU chief will weaken Bihar.
As the EVM malfunction continued, Villagers in the Jamui constituency boycotted voting after EVM malfunction at the polling booth. Villagers said they have been standing in queues since 5 am, but the EVMs were not functioning, so they boycotted the voting process.