The first phase of polling in the Bihar State Assembly elections in India has registered a historically high voter turnout, a clear indication of the state’s political consciousness and robust public participation in the democratic process. Polling was conducted across 121 constituencies in 16 districts during this initial phase.
The ruling coalition of Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faces a stiff and closely watched contest against the opposition alliance, comprising the Congress party and Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal.
The first phase recorded a voter turnout of 64.66 percent, which is the highest ever recorded in the history of Bihar’s State Assembly elections. Previously, the turnout was 62.57 percent in the 2000 assembly elections and 64.6 percent in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections.
Public Enthusiasm Amidst Controversy:
This high turnout follows a period of controversy concerning a massive revision of voter lists. A special review resulted in the deletion of 4.7 million names, reducing the total number of voters from 78.9 million to 74.2 million. Opposition parties had alleged that these deletions disproportionately targeted voters from poor and marginalized communities and were an attempt by the government to suppress their vote. However, the record turnout sparks a new debate in the context of these allegations.
The second phase of voting for the remaining 22 seats in the state will take place on November 11, with the results for all seats slated to be announced on November 14.
