PATNA: (TIA) Polling for the first phase of Assembly elections in Bihar is underway amidst tight security. 20 to 25 percent voters cast their votes in the first three hours of polling. Women and Youths have come out in large numbers to vote. The polling will continue till 5 p.m.
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Polling is going on in 47 constituencies spread over eight districts of Madhubani, Supaul, Araria, Kishanganj, Purnea, Katihar, Madhepura and Saharsa. In Simri Bakhtiarpur assembly constituency polling will end at 3 PM.
Over one crore seven lakh voters will decide the electoral fortune of 631 candidates including 52 women. Important candidates whose fate will be sealed in EVMs today are State Congress Chief Mehboob Ali Kaiser, and three Ministers Vijendra Prasad Yadav, Narendra Narayan Yadav and Smt. Renu Kumari.
No untoward incident has been reported so far from any constituency.
State Director General of Police Neelmani said that jawans of central para-military forces have been deployed. He said, border with Nepal and West Bengal has been sealed to prevent any infiltration of anti social elements.
Chief Electoral officer Sudhir Kumar Rakesh told media persons that Observers and Micro Observers have been appointed to ensure free and fair polls. Ten thousand eight hundred sixty eight polling booths have been made. He said that for the first time the election commission has made an arrangement to live web cast the voting process from 20 percent of the booths. The web cast will be directly monitored by the district election officers, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer at Patna and the Election Commission in New Delhi.