Patna, Nov 11 (IANS) Voting is underway peacefully in Bihar across 122 Assembly seats in 20 districts in the second and final phase of the state elections, which began at 7 a.m. on Tuesday. According to the Election Commission, 31.38 per cent of votes were cast till 11 a.m. In the first four hours, Kishanganj recorded the highest voter turnout at 34.74 per cent, while Madhubani registered 28.66 per cent voting.

As per the Election Commission of India, voter turnout stood at 32.39 per cent in West Champaran, 31.16 per cent in East Champaran, 31.58 per cent in Sheohar, 29.81 per cent in Sitamarhi, 28.66 per cent in Madhubani, 31.69 per cent in Supaul, 31.88 per cent in Araria, 34.74 per cent in Kishanganj, 32.94 per cent in Purnia, 30.83 per cent in Katihar, and 29.08 per cent in Bhagalpur.

Additionally, 32.91 per cent voting was recorded in Banka, 31.98 per cent in Kaimur, 29.80 per cent in Rohtas, 31.07 per cent in Arwal, 30.36 per cent in Jehanabad, 32.88 per cent in Aurangabad, 34.07 per cent in Gaya, 29.02 per cent in Nawada, and 33.69 per cent in Jamui.

In this phase, more than 3.7 crore voters will decide the political fate of 1,302 candidates. During the first phase, held earlier, 27.65 per cent turnout was recorded till 11 a.m. The second phase will determine the fortunes of several prominent leaders from both the NDA and the Grand Alliance.

A total of 45,399 polling stations have been set up for the electorate, including 5,326 in urban areas and 40,073 in rural regions. In this round, 122 candidates from the NDA and 127 from the Grand Alliance are in the fray.

Voters began arriving at several polling stations even before voting started, with long queues seen at many booths. Strict security arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful polling. Around four lakh security personnel have been deployed across districts.

Voting is being held in East Champaran, West Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Supaul, Araria, Kishanganj, Purnia, Katihar, Bhagalpur, Banka, Kaimur, Rohtas, Arwal, Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada, Jehanabad, and Jamui.

The political fate of several party presidents will also be decided in this phase. From the NDA, 53 candidates are contesting on BJP tickets, 44 from JD(U), 15 from LJP (Ram Vilas), six from Hindustani Awam Morcha, and four from Rashtriya Lok Morcha. On the Grand Alliance side, 71 candidates are from the RJD, 37 from Congress, six from CPI(ML), four from CPI, eight from VIP, and one from CPI(M).

In the first phase, voting was completed on November 6 across 121 of Bihar’s 243 Assembly constituencies.

–IANS

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