The first phase of the Bihar assembly elections concluding with high enthusiasm, recording “highest-ever” voter turnout. Nearly 65 per cent of 3.75 crore voters turned up to seal the fate of 1,314 candidates including high-profile candidates like Tejashwi Yadav and Samrat Choudhary.
The Election Commission of India issued a statement saying the first phase of the polls concluded peacefully “in a festive mood with the highest-ever voter turnout of 64.66 per cent in the history of Bihar”.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vinod Singh Gunjiyal said women participated in large numbers in the voting exercise, with a “lot of enthusiasm.”
Bihar Elections Phase 1: Top Points
- Minor incidents of violence were reported, including an alleged attack on Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha’s vehicle.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, campaigning for the final phase, said the strong turnout of women was an encouraging sign for the NDA, remarking that women seemed to have “fortified polling booths” to prevent a return of “jungle raj.”
- The NDA’s campaign hinges on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s governance record and recent welfare measures—such as 125 units of free electricity, ₹10,000 cash transfers to over 1 crore women, and higher social security pensions—to blunt anti-incumbency sentiment.
- The opposition, meanwhile, dismissed the NDA’s claims and expressed confidence in a change of government.
- RJD chief Lalu Prasad voiced support for his son Tejashwi Yadav, posting a metaphor on X: “If a roti isn’t flipped, it burns. Twenty years is too long. A Tejashwi government is needed for a new Bihar.”
- Both camps traded allegations during polling.
- Deputy CM Sinha alleged that RJD supporters attacked a vehicle in his convoy to intimidate backward-class voters.
- The RJD, in turn, accused authorities of deliberately slowing down voting in areas favourable to the INDIA bloc, a claim the Election Commission rejected.
- Muzaffarpur recorded 70.96%, Samastipur 70.63%, Madhepura 67.21%, Vaishali 67.37%, Saharsa 66.84%, Khagaria 66.36%, Lakhisarai 65.05%, Munger 60.40%, Siwan 60.31%, Nalanda 58.91%, and Patna 57.93%.
- Urban centres in Patna, including Bankipur, Digha, and Kumhrar, recorded lower enthusiasm among voters.