60 percent voter turnout till 5 pm 'Bihar Elections'

In the first phase of Bihar assembly elections, 60.18 per cent of 3.75 crore voters exercised their franchise till 5 pm on Thursday across 121 constituencies.

Stakes are high for both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc in the first phase of the assembly elections, with several key leaders, including RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, and several ministers, in the fray.

The ruling NDA,



which has been in power in the state for 20 years, except for a few brief interruptions, is banking on its image of “sushasan” (good governance) in contrast to the alleged “jungle raj” that marked the 15-year-old rule of the RJD-Congress combine.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who addressed rallies in a couple of constituencies going to polls in the second and final phase, felt that the noticeably high number of women turning up to vote was a good sign for the NDA.