Peaceful polling in Bihar 58.58 pc voter turnout in five LS seats

    Patna, Apr 26 (PTI) Polling in the five Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar was conducted peacefully on Friday, with a provisional voter turnout of 58.58 per cent, almost 4.34 per cent lower than that of the 2019 general elections, officials said.
    Voting began at 7 am amid tight security for the Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnea, Bhagalpur and Banka constituencies.
    Around 93.96 lakh voters were eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 50 candidates.
    After the deadline for voting ended at 6 pm, around 58.58 per cent voter turnout was recorded. But this figure is provisional, said Chief Electoral Officer, H R Srinivasa.
    "We are expecting around 60 per cent turnout as voting is still going on at certain booths in Purnea, Katihar and other places. Voters who have entered polling booths before 6 pm, are being allowed to cast their votes", said the CEO.
    Katihar recorded 64.60 per cent turnout, Kishanganj registered 64 per cent, Purnea 59.94 per cent, Bhagalpur 51 per cent and Banka 54 per cent.
    The total voter turnout in these four Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections was Kishanganj 66.35 per cent, Katihar 67.69 per cent, Purnea 65.37 per cent, Bhagalpur 57.17 per cent and Banka 58.60 per cent. In the 2019 polls voters turnout in these constituencies was 62.92 per cent.
    Asked about the reason for the low turnout, the CEO said, "We are analysing this."
    Srinivasa told reporters that polling was by and large peaceful..
    "Officials engaged in polling duty received 71 complaints that were immediately resolved," the CEO said.
    Adequate forces were deployed to check any untoward incidents in the constituencies.
    He said voters boycotted polling at 11 booths in Kishanganj, Bhagalpur and Banka. Besides, officials of the prohibition department seized 72,747 litres of liquor (worth Rs. 2.62 crore) from different places in the state on Friday. The sale and consumption of alcohol is banned in Bihar since April 2016.
    Talking to reporters, Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters), J S Gangwar said, "Around 42,000 security personnel and 18,600 home guards were deployed in all five Lok Sabha seats for smooth conduct of polls on Friday.
    The total number of voters for the five seats is 93.96 lakh, including 45.15 lakh women and 306 belonging to the third gender. Young voters form more than one-third of the electorate, with 13.77 lakh in the age group of 18-19 years and another 20.86 lakh aged between 20 and 29 years.
    Among the 50 candidates in the fray, only three were women, with RJD's Bima Bharti in Purnea being the lone female contesting on a major political party's ticket.
    Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U), a BJP ally, is contesting all the five seats, including Kishanganj, which it seeks to wrest from the Congress, while its MPs in the remaining four constituencies are trying to retain their turf.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)