Over 34% polling recorded in five LS seats in Bihar till 1 pm

Patna: Around 34.62 per cent of over 95.11 lakh voters in five Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar have exercised their franchise till 1 pm on Monday, officials said.

The polling began at 7 am in Muzaffarpur, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Saran and Hajipur Lok Sabha constituencies and will continue till 6 pm, a senior official at the CEO's office said.

Over 95 lakh voters in these five seats will decide the electoral fate of 80 candidates at 9,436 polling stations.

Over 37.80 per cent of voters have exercised their franchise in Muzaffarpur, 35.01 per cent in Sitamarhi, 33.67 per cent in Saran, 33.57 per cent in Madhubani, and 33.10 in Hajipur till 1 pm.

Of the total voters, 45.11 lakh are women, 21 lakh are under 29 years of age and 1.26 lakh are in the age group of 18-19 years.

Talking to reporters in Patna, Bihar BJP president and Deputy Chief Minister Samra Chaudhary said, "Voting is going very smoothly in all five constituencies in the state today.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai cast his vote on Monday at a polling booth in Hajipur Lok Sabha constituency. After casting his vote, Rai said, "I urge people to exercise their franchise in large numbers. It's a festival of democracy". Rai is seeking re-election from Ujiarpur Lok Sabha constituency where voting took place on May 13.

Notable candidates include NDA ally Chirag Paswan in Hajipur, Lalu Prasad's daughter Rohini Acharya, who is pitted against two-term sitting BJP MP and former Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy in Saran, and Muzaffarpur's sitting MP Ajay Nishad, who crossed over to the Congress after being denied a BJP ticket for a third term.

Sudhir Kumar Ojha, an advocate who remains in the news for his petitions against top political figures, Bollywood stars and even foreign heads of state, is contesting from Muzaffarpur.