Of the 243 assembly seats in the state, elections have already been held for 81 in the first two phases, held on October 12 and October 16.
More than half of the electorate voted today for the 50 seats that are up for grabs in the third phase of polling in Bihar. The crucial third phase tests Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav on home ground.
Here are the latest developments:
The third phase of polling saw a 53.32 per cent voter turnout today, said Bihar's Chief Electoral Officer Ajay Nayak. Polling ended at 5 pm in all but 10 Maoist-hit constituencies where it ended an hour earlier, at 4 pm, due to security reasons.
23 of the 50 seats where polling was held today were won by Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) last time. The BJP, then a partner of the JD(U), had won 19. Lalu Prasad's RJD had won eight.
The BJP, now taking on the JD(U), is contesting 34 seats, its regional allies the rest. The party, faced with worrying reports about its performance in the first two phases, is looking to cover much ground with the third phase today.
Lalu Prasad's RJD leads the anti-BJP grand alliance in this phase, contesting 25 of the 50 seats. Saran, with 10 assembly seats, is seen as a Lalu Prasad stronghold, though his party had won only two last time, as the JD(U)-BJP alliance powered its way to a big win.
Lalu's two sons, Tej Pratap and Tejaswi Yadav contested elections for the first time today. Tej Pratap, 27, is the RJD candidate in Mahua, and Tejaswi, 25 in Raghopur.
Polling was held for seven seats in Nalanda, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's home turf. His party had won six of those seats last time - then partner BJP had won the seventh. In last year's national election, Nalanda was one of the two seats that the JD(U) could win in Bihar.
The Bihar elections are crucial for the BJP which needs numbers in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament, where it is in a minority and unable to push key reforms. The members of Rajya Sabha are elected by lawmakers in state legislatures.
The results in Bihar will also set the tone for crucial assembly elections next year in West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Tamil Nadu.
Of the 243 assembly seats in the state, elections have already been held for 81 in the first two phases, held on October 12 and October 16. Two more rounds of polling will be held on November 1 and November 5.
Votes will be counted on November 8.
Post a comment