Patna: Polling for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections began at 7 a.m. on Thursday, covering 18 districts of the state.
Voting is taking place in 121 Assembly constituencies, with a total of 1,314 candidates running for election, including 1,192 men and 122 women.
According to the Election Commission, a total of 37,513,302 voters are eligible to participate, comprising 19,835,325 males, 17,677,219 females, and 758 voters from the third gender. These voters will decide the fate of the 1,314 candidates.
There are a total of 45,341 polling stations, including 36,733 in rural areas and 8,608 in urban areas. The Election Commission has designated 320 model polling stations, 926 stations managed by women, and 107 stations managed for persons with disabilities (PwD) in these districts. Live webcasting will be available at all 45,341 polling stations.
Polling will continue until 6 p.m. at general booths, but in six Assembly constituencies located in Naxal-affected areas, voting will conclude at 5 p.m.
A mock poll was conducted between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. in the presence of booth-level agents before polling opened to the public.
Voting is currently underway in Khagaria, Munger, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura, Nalanda, Patna, Bhojpur, Madhepura, Saharsa, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Vaishali, Samastipur, Begusarai, and Buxar.
Unprecedented security arrangements have been made for this first phase of voting. Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed across all 18 districts, with special patrols positioned at sensitive and hyper-sensitive booths. Over 15 battalions of forces have been assigned throughout the state.
The Patna district administration has ensured that security personnel are stationed at every booth to prevent disturbances or the spread of rumours. Patna alone has 5,677 polling stations, which include 541 women-only stations, 49 model polling stations, 14 PwD-friendly polling stations, and 3 youth-themed booths.
Voters in Muzaffarpur are casting their votes at 4,186 polling stations for 11 Assembly seats, with approximately 3,298,000 eligible voters.
In Lakhisarai, all sector officers and polling staff collected Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and other materials from Gandhi Maidan on Wednesday. Several booths in this area are located in Naxal-affected regions, where voting will close at 5 p.m.
Officials report that all polling staff have been provided with vehicles, EVMs, and essential equipment.
In Samastipur, voting began at 7 a.m. for all 10 Assembly constituencies, with a total of 2,932,602 voters expected to cast their votes at 3,603 polling stations set up across the district. The District Election Department has made special arrangements to ensure free, fair, and peaceful polling.
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