Fear prevailed in many areas during Bihar’s fourth phase of Assembly polls on Monday due to bomb blasts and the Maoists’ diktat for poll boycott, but an average 51 per cent voting was registered in the eight south-eastern and central districts where polling was conducted for 42 constituencies.
Apart from a series of crude bomb blasts in Danapur near the state capital Patna, which injured two women, and a landmine blast triggered by the Maoists in Jamui district, which damaged a bridge and a police patrol vehicle, no other major violence was seen. Eight bombs were reportedly set off by miscreants in Danapur in the morning and noon apparently to frighten voters, but police confirmed only two blasts and arrested five people. Four BSF helicopters with senior police officials were engaged in aerial surveillance in the southern Maoist-hit districts as polling took place.
While Begusarai district (seven seats), known as Bihar’s Leningrad for the left parties’ dominance here, registered the highest voting at 55 per cent, followed by 53 per cent in Khagaria (four seats) and 52.5 per cent in Bhagalpur (seven seats), the lowest of 45.5 per cent was seen in Banka (seven seats). Patna district (ten seats) witnessed 51.9 per cent voting and Munger (three seats) 46.3 per cent, Lakhiserai (two seats) and Jamui (four seats) registered 48 per cent each.
In the Lok Sabha bypoll held simultaneously in the Banka parliamentary constituency, 46.6 per cent votes were polled. The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of MP and former Union minister Digvijay Singh in June.
Thousands of voters carrying photo-identity cards in all the eight districts were prevented from voting because their names were missing in the voter lists. Some well-known people who failed to cast their votes in Patna for this reason included ADG Abhayanand, disaster management secretary Vyasjee, and noted folk singer Sharda Sinha who, ironically, has been appearing on TV singing a song that asks people to cast their votes.
The Maoists had pasted pamphlets and hung banners in Munger, Lakhiserai, Banka and Jamui asking people to boycott the polls or else face violent consequences. In two polling booths in Munger’s Jamalpur constituency, not a single voter turned up to cast votes.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and JD(U) minister Ramanand Singh were booked for violating rules as they entered the booths in Patna and Khagaria respectively with their armed security guards in tow to cast their votes. Chief minister Nitish Kumar and deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi mocked at Yadav for his act and called him a “habitual lawbreaker”. Mr Yadav and wife Rabri Devi cast their votes along with son Tejpratap and daughter Ragini.
Of the 42 constituencies for which 568 candidates, including 58 women, are in the fray, Sultanganj in Bhagalpur had the largest number – 24 – contesting and Alauli in Khagaria had the fewest – eight. The last two phases of the polls for 61 constituencies are scheduled for November 9 and 20.