Bihar polls: CM Nitish Kumar thanks people for record voter turnout in first phase

New Delhi: After the completion of the first phase of the Bihar elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday thanked the people of Bihar for the record voter turnout. Taking to the social media platform X, CM Nitish Kumar wrote, “My heartfelt thanks to the people of Bihar for the record voter turnout in the first phase. Bihar has made unprecedented progress in recent years. Now is the time to elevate Bihar to the ranks of the most developed states.” He further added, “In a democracy, voting is not only our right but also our responsibility.

The people of Bihar are urged to vote with the same enthusiasm in the second phase on the 11th, so that Bihar can move forward even further. Everyone should be respected, and everyone should develop.” Meanwhile, the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections concluded peacefully on Thursday with a record voter turnout of 64.66 per cent, the highest in the electoral history of the state, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vinod Singh Gunjiyal said. A total of 121 Assembly constituencies across 18 districts went to polls, with 3,75,13,302 electors, including 1,98,35,325 male, 1,76,77,219 female and 758 third-gender voters.

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A total of 45,341 polling stations have been set up across the state, including 36,733 in rural areas and 8608 in urban areas. Additional Director General (Law and Order) and State Police Nodal Officer Kundan Krishnan said polling was largely incident-free, barring two minor episodes. In one case, villagers in Halsi block of Lakhisarai district allegedly hurled mud at the convoy of Vijay Kumar Sinha, the Deputy Chief Minister, who is also a BJP candidate.

In another incident, unidentified persons smashed the window of a CPI(M) MLA’s vehicle in Daudnagar village in Saran district. Krishnan had said that since the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, authorities have seized 850 firearms and more than 4,000 cartridges. He said the deployment of 500 companies of Central Armed Police Forces, along with the Bihar Police, and increased night patrolling contributed significantly to the peaceful atmosphere.

More than four lakh polling personnel reached their respective stations by 11.20 p.m. on Wednesday. Mock polls were completed before 7 a.m. on Thursday in the presence of 67,902 polling agents representing 1,314 candidates (including 1,192 male and 122 female candidates), who are in the fray, and polling began simultaneously at all 45,341 booths. Over 90,000 Jeevika Didis, along with CAPF personnel, were stationed across polling stations to assist in the identification of burqa-clad women voters.