BH-2NLD PERCENTAGE

44.73 per cent voting recorded till 3 pm in Bihar
    (Eds: Updating percentage)
    Patna, May 12 (PTI) Around 44.73 per cent of 1.38
crore voters exercised their franchise till 3 pm in eight Lok
Sabha seats of Bihar in the sixth phase of elections on
Sunday, officials said.
    A polling officer was killed at a booth in a freak
incident of firing by a home guard before polling started in
the Sheohar Lok Sabha seat.
    A few incidents of malfunctioning of Electronic Voting
Machines were reported from various booths, the officials
said.
    Altogether 1.38 crore voters would decide the fate of
127 candidates, including 16 women, across 13,973 polling
stations.
    Polling is currently underway "peacefully" in eight
Lok Sabha constituencies of Valmikinagar, West Champaran, East
Champaran, Sheohar, Vaishali, Gopalganj, Siwan and
Maharajganj.
    Voting, which began at 7 am, will end at 6 pm, except
in three assembly constituencies of Minapur, Paroo and
Sahebganj in the Vaishali Lok Sabha seat, and two assembly
segments of Valmikinagar and Ramnagar in the Valmikinagar Lok
Sabha constituency, where polling will conclude at 4 pm.
    Valmikinagar recorded the highest voter turnout at
52.02 per cent, followed by 48.33 per cent in West Champaran,
46.94 per cent in Vaishali, 45.75 per cent in East Champaran,
43.76 per cent in Gopalganj, 43.50 per cent in Sheohar, 41.50
per cent in Siwan and 37 per cent in Maharajganj.
    "Polling has been peaceful with no untoward incidents
reported from any of these constituencies so far, except death
of a polling officer in Sheohar in accidental firing... Voting
began after rectifying the technical problems," election
officials said.
    The polling officer, identified as Shivendra Kishore,
was killed at a booth in Sheohar constituency, when a
homeguard accidently fired from his rifle, while he was
cleaning his gun before the start of polls in the morning,
Sheohar Sub-Divisional Police Officer Rakesh Kumar said.
    He succumbed to bullet injuries at Sri Krishna Medical
College and Hospital, Muzaffarpur, during the course of
treatment, SKMCH Superintendent Sunil Shahi said.
    The homeguard, Saryug Das, a resident of Katihar, has
been arrested after the incident, the SDPO said.
    Prominent candidates whose electoral fate will be
decided on Sunday's polling included Union minister Radha
Mohan Singh (East Champaran), senior RJD leader Raghuvansh
Prasad Singh (Vaishali), RJD's Heena Shahab (Siwan) who is the
wife of Siwan strongman and former MP Mohammad Shahabuddin,
BJP sitting MPs Rama Devi (Sheohar), Janardan Singh Sigriwal
(Maharajganj) and Sanjay Jaiswal (West Champaran). PTI AR
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