In highest turnout since 1951, Bihar registers 67% polling

Bihar recorded nearly 67% turnout after the two phases of polling, 9.6% more than the previous Assembly election, the Election Commission of India said.

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The second and final phase of voting on Tuesday saw a 68.79% turnout with reports from around 2,000 booths yet to be tallied, Bihar Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Singh Gunjiyal said.

Polling was held in 122 Assembly seats spread over 20 districts and in which 1,302 candidates contested.

According to the details shared by the Election Commission, this was the highest voter turnout recorded in the State since 1951. The turnout among male voters was 62.8%, and amongst women voters it was 71.6%.

Bihar has 3.51 crore women voters and 3.93 crore men voters. The total electorate stands at around 7.45 crore.

Out of the 20 districts that went to polls on Tuesday, Muslim-dominated Kishanganj recorded the highest voter turnout at 77.75%, while Nawada recorded the lowest with 57.76%.

According to the poll panel, more than 8.5 lakh polling-related staff, over 1.4 lakh polling agents appointed by 2,616 contesting candidates, 243 general observers, 38 police observers and 67 expenditure observers were part of the election machinery.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said the women, youth and people from all sections of society of Bihar voted for “development”. He added that the NDA will “break the record of the 2010 election results” and form the government with a “huge majority”.

Mr. Choudhary expressed hope that the blessings of the people will continue, and the NDA will work for the progress of Bihar under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said that Bihar has shown overwhelming support for the NDA in the second phase. “Record turnout in the first and second phases clearly indicates that the NDA is pursuing its commitment to a developed Bihar and a developed India. The NDA’s vision is clear: only when Bihar progresses the country will progress. Voters have given their support to the NDA for a developed Bihar,” he said.

He said that the record turnout in the last phase demonstrates that the people of Bihar have rejected the patrons of ‘jungle raj’, ‘gunda raj’, and corruption.

Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha said that the voter participation has set “an example for the nation”. “These figures demonstrate the deep faith of the people of Bihar in the democratic system. Reports coming from various parts of the State clearly indicate that a double-engine government is once again poised to form in Bihar with an unprecedented mandate. The people have blessed the strong leadership of the PM and CM, instead of the empty promises of the RJD and Congress,” he said.

However, Communist Party of Indian (Marxist-Leninist Liberation) Bihar State secretary Kunal said the second phase of voting showed an even stronger wave in favour of the grand alliance than in the first phase. He said that it has become clear that the 20-year-old NDA rule in Bihar is coming to an end, and a grand alliance government will be formed.

He said that in six seats, where the party is contesting, there were attempts to intimidate voters supporting the grand alliance. “Despite all this, youth, women, Dalits, minorities and vulnerable sections of society enthusiastically voted for change,” Mr. Kunal said. He said that there is a need to be vigilant against “vote thieves”. He appealed to all counting agents to maintain strict vigilance during the vote counting on November 14 to ensure that the ruling party does not get an opportunity to manipulate the process.