Patna/Gaya: More than 7.3 per cent of the 75 lakh voters in Bihar's four Lok Sabha constituencies have exercised their franchise till 9 am on Friday, officials said.
A senior official of the state Chief Electoral Office (Bihar) said that voting started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.
More than 75 lakh voters will decide the fate of 38 candidates on these four seats.
In the first two hours of voting, more than 9.30 percent voters in Gaya Lok Sabha constituency, 9.12 percent in Jamui, 6.01 percent in Aurangabad and 6.15 percent in Nawada have exercised their franchise.
Speaking to reporters in Gaya, former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awa Morcha (HAM) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is contesting as an ND candidate from Gaya, said, “Voters are coming to cast their votes. "Voters are following our Prime Minister." Narendra Modi has said 'First vote, then have refreshments'.
Apart from the reserved seats of Gaya and Jamui, tight security arrangements have been made in Nawada and Aurangabad, where most of the nearly 5,000 polling stations have been marked as "sensitive" given the long history of Naxalite violence in these districts.
Of the four seats, Nawada has the highest number of voters at 20.06 lakh with a total of eight candidates in the fray, although the main contest is between BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Thakur and RJD's Shravan Kushwaha, who is seeking entry into the Lok Sabha.
There are 18.18 voters in Gaya, but the maximum number of candidates is 14. Meanwhile, NDA ally former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is just a few months away from turning 80, is making another attempt to enter Parliament.
A senior official of the state Chief Electoral Office (Bihar) said that voting started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.
More than 75 lakh voters will decide the fate of 38 candidates on these four seats.
In the first two hours of voting, more than 9.30 percent voters in Gaya Lok Sabha constituency, 9.12 percent in Jamui, 6.01 percent in Aurangabad and 6.15 percent in Nawada have exercised their franchise.
Speaking to reporters in Gaya, former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awa Morcha (HAM) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is contesting as an ND candidate from Gaya, said, “Voters are coming to cast their votes. "Voters are following our Prime Minister." Narendra Modi has said 'First vote, then have refreshments'.
Apart from the reserved seats of Gaya and Jamui, tight security arrangements have been made in Nawada and Aurangabad, where most of the nearly 5,000 polling stations have been marked as "sensitive" given the long history of Naxalite violence in these districts.
Of the four seats, Nawada has the highest number of voters at 20.06 lakh with a total of eight candidates in the fray, although the main contest is between BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Thakur and RJD's Shravan Kushwaha, who is seeking entry into the Lok Sabha.
There are 18.18 voters in Gaya, but the maximum number of candidates is 14. Meanwhile, NDA ally former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is just a few months away from turning 80, is making another attempt to enter Parliament.
