Patna: About 24.25 per cent of the more than 1.62 crore voters exercised their franchise on eight Lok Sabha seats in Bihar till 11 am on Saturday in the last phase of elections, officials said.
Voting started at 7 am in Patna Sahib, Patliputra, Arrah, Karakat, Jehanabad Buxar, Nalanda and Jehanabad Lok Sabha seats and will continue till 6 pm.
Karakat recorded the highest turnout of 27.92 per cent in the first four hours of polling, followed by Patliputra (27.68), Jehanabad (27.09), Buxar (25.89) Nalanda (24.30), Sasaram (22.09), Arrah (21.19 per cent) and Patna Sahi ( 19.33).
Voting is also going on for the by-election for Agiaon assembly constituency under Arrah Lok Sabha seat.
Till 11 am, about 19.2 percent voting took place in the by-election.
The by-election was necessitated due to the disqualification of CPI (ML Liberation MLA Manoj Manzil) after his conviction in a murder case.
In the by-election, the Left party's candidate is Shiv Prakash Ranjan, while ND has fielded JDU's Prabhunath Prasad.
More than 1.62 crore people will vote in the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections to decide the fate of 134 candidates at 16,634 polling stations, of which 3,885 are in urban areas."I urge people to exercise their franchise in large numbers. This is a festival of democracy," the Governor told reporters after casting his vote.
Bihar Governor Rajendra V Arlekar cast his vote at a polling booth in the Ra Bhawan complex, while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar exercised his franchise at a polling booth at Bakhtiyarpur under Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat.
"I urge people to exercise their franchise in large numbers. This is a festival of democracy," the Governor told reporters after casting his vote.,
RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi and their daughter Rohini Acharya also cast their votes at a polling booth in Patna.
Speaking to reporters after exercising her franchise, Acharya, who is contesting as a 'Grand Alliance' candidate from Saran Lok Sabha seat, told reporters, "Cast your vote for the safety, security and dignity of the women of Manipur. "
More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between the Meiteis in the Imphal Valley in Manipur and the nearby hill-base Kukis since May last year.
Several high-profile candidates are in the fray in Bihar, including Union minister RK Singh, who is seeking his third term from Arrah, where his main rival is sitting MLA Sudama Prasad of CPI (ML) Liberation.
In Patna Sahib, veteran BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad is vying for a second consecutive Lok Sabha term, and Congress spokesperson Anshul Avijit is his key challenger.RJD president Lalu Prasad's elder daughter Misa Bharti is contesting from Patliputra for the third time, while BJP MP Ramkripal Yadav is aiming for a hat-trick.
In Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's home district, Nalanda, incumbent M Kaushalendra Kumar is expected to retain the seat for the JD(U), with sitting CPI(ML) MLA Sandeep Sourav a key challenger.
Former Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief Upendra Kushwaha is hopeful of regaining the Karakat seat after returning to the BJP alliance.
There is a multi-cornered contest in Karakat, especially with Bhojpuri superstar Pawan Singh contesting as an independent.
Voting started at 7 am in Patna Sahib, Patliputra, Arrah, Karakat, Jehanabad Buxar, Nalanda and Jehanabad Lok Sabha seats and will continue till 6 pm.
Karakat recorded the highest turnout of 27.92 per cent in the first four hours of polling, followed by Patliputra (27.68), Jehanabad (27.09), Buxar (25.89) Nalanda (24.30), Sasaram (22.09), Arrah (21.19 per cent) and Patna Sahi ( 19.33).
Voting is also going on for the by-election for Agiaon assembly constituency under Arrah Lok Sabha seat.
Till 11 am, about 19.2 percent voting took place in the by-election.
The by-election was necessitated due to the disqualification of CPI (ML Liberation MLA Manoj Manzil) after his conviction in a murder case.
In the by-election, the Left party's candidate is Shiv Prakash Ranjan, while ND has fielded JDU's Prabhunath Prasad.
More than 1.62 crore people will vote in the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections to decide the fate of 134 candidates at 16,634 polling stations, of which 3,885 are in urban areas."I urge people to exercise their franchise in large numbers. This is a festival of democracy," the Governor told reporters after casting his vote.
Bihar Governor Rajendra V Arlekar cast his vote at a polling booth in the Ra Bhawan complex, while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar exercised his franchise at a polling booth at Bakhtiyarpur under Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat.
"I urge people to exercise their franchise in large numbers. This is a festival of democracy," the Governor told reporters after casting his vote.,
RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi and their daughter Rohini Acharya also cast their votes at a polling booth in Patna.
Speaking to reporters after exercising her franchise, Acharya, who is contesting as a 'Grand Alliance' candidate from Saran Lok Sabha seat, told reporters, "Cast your vote for the safety, security and dignity of the women of Manipur. "
More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between the Meiteis in the Imphal Valley in Manipur and the nearby hill-base Kukis since May last year.
Several high-profile candidates are in the fray in Bihar, including Union minister RK Singh, who is seeking his third term from Arrah, where his main rival is sitting MLA Sudama Prasad of CPI (ML) Liberation.
In Patna Sahib, veteran BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad is vying for a second consecutive Lok Sabha term, and Congress spokesperson Anshul Avijit is his key challenger.RJD president Lalu Prasad's elder daughter Misa Bharti is contesting from Patliputra for the third time, while BJP MP Ramkripal Yadav is aiming for a hat-trick.
In Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's home district, Nalanda, incumbent M Kaushalendra Kumar is expected to retain the seat for the JD(U), with sitting CPI(ML) MLA Sandeep Sourav a key challenger.
Former Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief Upendra Kushwaha is hopeful of regaining the Karakat seat after returning to the BJP alliance.
There is a multi-cornered contest in Karakat, especially with Bhojpuri superstar Pawan Singh contesting as an independent.
