There was a 55.22 per cent turnout in Phase 3 of Bihar polls, the Election Commission said today. In the last elections in 2015, the total turnout was 56.66 per cent. An estimated 54.1 per cent of the 2.34 crore voters have cast vote till 5 pm in Bihar where 78 assembly segments of the 243-strong Bihar Assembly are voting in the third and final phase of assembly elections in the state, in which stakes are quite high for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is up against multiple rivals, including former ally Chirag Paswan.
Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) chief Sharad Yadav's daughter Subhashini Raj Rao, who is contesting on a Congress ticket, is among the 1,204 candidates, including the outgoing Bihar Assembly Speaker and 12 members of the state cabinet, contesting in this phase. Counting of votes is scheduled on November 10.
Besides, polling will also take place for Valmiki Nagar Lok Sabha seat where a by-election has been necessitated by the death of sitting JD(U) MP Baidyanath Mahato.
In 2015 polls, JD( U ) and BJP won 43 of these 78 seats, while the RJD-Congress combine garnered 31 seats in the third phase.
