Lok Sabha Elections Phase 5: Bihar records 8.92 per cent polling till 9 am

An estimated 8.92 per cent of over 87.66 lakh voters exercised their franchise during the first two hours of polling in five Lok Sabha seats of Bihar on Monday, during the fifth phase of the staggered general election, an official said.

Polling is underway in Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Saran and Hajipur parliamentary seats amid tight security, with no untoward incident reported from any part of the state, he said.

According to the official, Saran recorded the maximum turnout at 13 per cent, followed by Madhubani at 9.20 per cent, Sitamarhi at 7.20 per cent and Hajipur at 9 per cent.

Muzaffarpur recorded the lowest turnout till 9am at 6.35 per cent, he said.

Barring a few instances of EVM glitches, which was taken care of by the polling officials, polling has largely been peaceful in the five seats, the official said.

"The voting process was delayed by around 30 minutes in six polling stations of Saran, two in Madhubani, one each in Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur constituency due to technical glitches in the EVMs, but the polling officials have attended to the issues," he stated.

Elaborate security measures have been made for the five Lok Sabha seats, where women and first-time voters were seen queuing up outside the polling booths even before the commencement of the process at 7am, the official said.

The Election Commission has appointed 65,000 polling personnel and 4,349 micro observers to carry out free and fair voting in 8,899 booths across the five seats, he said.

Arrangements have also been made for helicopters and air ambulance at select places to meet any exigency, he added.

Altogether, 82 candidates are in the fray in the fifth phase of Bihar polls, prominent among them being former union minister and sitting MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy, his rival and RJD candidate Chandrika Rai, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan's brother and Bihar minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, former Bihar minister Sunil Kumar Pintu.

-PTI