Bihar Elections 2020 LIVE UPDATES: 51.68% voter turnout recorded till 5 pm in the first phase

New Delhi: Voting began on 71 constituencies across 16 districts in the first phase of the Bihar Assembly election on Wednesday at 7 am.

As many as 1,066 candidates are in the fray including 42 from Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), 35 from Janata Dal (United), 29 from BJP, 21 from Congress and 8 from Left parties.

A total of 2,14,84,787 electors are eligible to vote at EVMs today. Nearly half-a-dozen ministers from Nitish Kumar cabinet are in the fray in the first phase: Prem Kumar who is contesting from Gaya Town, Krishna Nandan Verma from Jehanabad, Santosh Kumar Nirala from Nirala, Jai Kumar Singh from Dinara, Ram Narayan Mandal from Banka and Vijay Kumar Sinha from Lakhisarai.

LIVE UPDATES:

Voter turnout of 51.68% recorded till 5 pm in the first phase of #BiharPolls : Election Commission of India

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

Bihar: Former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi casts his vote at a polling booth in Gaya during the first phase of state assembly elections.

“Out of 71 seats in phase-1, NDA will comfortably win around 50 seats,” he said. pic.twitter.com/xESfOf6Oqu

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

Voter turnout recorded till 1pm is 33.10 per cent

23.9 per cent turnout in first six hours of voting in 71 seats, Baghalpur records highest at 34.34 per cent

18.31 pc turnout till 11 am, Lakhisarai records highest at 26.28 pc

Voter turnout recorded till 9:23 am is 6 per cent.

Poll Percentage 9 am pic.twitter.com/C76m08Z78T

— CEO Bihar #ElectionDepartmentBihar (@CEOBihar) October 28, 2020

Voter turnout has been recorded at 5 per cent till 8 am.

इस बार न्याय, रोज़गार, किसान-मज़दूर के लिए
आपका वोट हो सिर्फ़ महागठबंधन के लिए।

बिहार के पहले चरण के मतदान की आप सभी को शुभकामनाएँ।#आज_बदलेगा_बिहार

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 28, 2020

I appeal to all voters to participate in this festival of democracy while taking precautions against #COVID19, tweets BJP President JP Nadda

Polling for the first phase of #BiharElections is underway. pic.twitter.com/HSA4xysn7A

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

Voting for the first phase of #BiharElections underway; visuals from polling booth number 155 and 156 in Arrah. pic.twitter.com/6PNyJnzOFo

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

पहले मतदान फिर कोई काम।
लोकतंत्र के महापर्व में मैंने भाग लिया ..आप सब भी इसमें भाग ले ..विकास के लिए वोट करे। pic.twitter.com/eOEXStPdsN

— Shandilya Giriraj Singh (@girirajsinghbjp) October 28, 2020

Bihar: Union Minister Giriraj Singh casts his vote at a polling booth in Lakhisarai.

Polling for the first phase of #BiharElections is underway. pic.twitter.com/Ent0dAyNzs

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

#BiharElections: Union Minister @girirajsinghbjp visited a temple in Barahiya, Lakhisarai.

He says,” Election is the biggest festival of democracy. I appeal to everyone to exercise their right to vote.” #BiharPolls #BiharElections2020
LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/SDWfWp6uMJ pic.twitter.com/3t9auun6gv

— Newsroom Post (@NewsroomPostCom) October 28, 2020

I urge all voters to ensure their participation in this festival of democracy while taking precautions against #COVID19, tweets PM Narendra Modi

Polling for the first phase of #BiharElections is underway. pic.twitter.com/zpnHTA15BF

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

We have taken all security measures in every polling booths. Adequate security forces have been deployed. #COVID19 measures have also been taken in all the booths: Rakesh Rathi, IG Magadh. #BiharElections2020 pic.twitter.com/9p8bLrE8MN

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

#WATCH | Bihar: Sanitization underway at polling booth number 56 and 57 in Munger; people queue up at the polling booth while maintaining social distancing.

Polling for the first phase of #BiharElections is underway. pic.twitter.com/6htG2XLUcZ

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

Bihar: Union Minister Giriraj Singh visited a temple in Barahiya, Lakhisarai.

He says,” Election is the biggest festival of democracy. I appeal to everyone to exercise their right to vote.” #BiharPolls pic.twitter.com/Xs73MjuBTZ

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

Two Improvised explosive devices recovered and defused by Central Reserve Police Force from Aurangabad’s Dhibra area, earlier today.

Polling for the first phase of #BiharElections is underway.

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

Gaya: People deployed on polling duties seen wearing masks and gloves; sanitizers to be used during the voting that will begin shortly, which is first of its kind after #COVID19 pandemic. #BiharElections pic.twitter.com/WuF6C0jx2h

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

Sanitization work being undertaken at a polling station in Gaya in view of COVID-19.#BiharElections2020 pic.twitter.com/6KdMHANKTA

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

Preparations underway at a polling station in Munger as the voting for the first phase of #BiharElections to begin shortly. pic.twitter.com/lzlIWQFf0H

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

Voting for the first phase of the #BiharElections2020 will begin shortly. I appeal to people of the State to exercise their right to vote: Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav pic.twitter.com/ocFvv0YptL

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

Voting for the first phase of #BiharElections to begin today; visuals from polling stations in Lakhisarai (pic 1 & 2) and Gaya (pic 3 & 4) pic.twitter.com/jpp8RNnhX5

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to address two rallies in Valmikinagar and Kusheshwar Asthan (Darbhanga) today. (file pic) #BiharElections2020 pic.twitter.com/iVPhO6yFSX

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold three election rallies in Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur and Patna today. (file pic)#BiharElections2020 pic.twitter.com/dwnFTG5QE6

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020

Former chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi is contesting from Imamganj Assembly constituency where the RJD has pitted former Speaker of Bihar Assembly Uday Narayan Chaudhary.

Among other seats going to polls in the first phase are Jamui Assembly constituency where BJP fielded Shreyasi Singh, a national shooter and the daughter of former Union minister Digvijay Singh.

The campaigning for the first phase of the high-decibel Bihar Assembly Elections ended on October 26 evening.

Bihar is witnessing a triangular contest with the ruling JDU-BJP alliance and grand alliance (RJD, Congress and others) and Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which is eying the role of a kingmaker in case of a hung Assembly.

On one side is the NDA which includes JD-U (115 seats), BJP (110 seats), Vikassheel Insaan Party (11 seats) and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (7 seats).

Mahagathbandhan which picked Tejashwi Yadav as chief ministerial candidate constitutes RJD (144 seats) and the Congress with 70 seats. Other alliance partners include the CPI-ML (19 seats), CPI (6 seats), and the CPIM (4 seats).

LJP is contesting 136 seats on its own and fielded candidates against all JD-U nominees and only a few against BJP.

More than 52,000 voters belonging to Senior Citizen (above 80 years of age) and PwD (Persons with Disabilities) categories have opted to exercise the facility to vote through postal ballots in the forthcoming phase 1 of Bihar Legislative Assembly elections 2020.

The Election Commission has already mandated face masks, hand sanitizers, thermal scanners, gloves, face shields, and PPE kits during the electoral process while ensuring social distancing norms.

It also laid down guidelines for each polling station, including sanitization a day before the poll, markers for social distancing, putting up of COVID-19 awareness posters, and availability of hand gloves.