Over 35% polling recorded in eight LS seats in Bihar till 1 pm

Patna: Around 35.65 per cent of over 1.62 crore voters exercised their franchise in eight Lok Sabha seats in Bihar till 1 pm on Saturday in the last phase of elections, officials said.

Voting began at 7 am in Patna Sahib, Patliputra, Arrah, Karakat, Jehanabad, Buxar, Nalanda and Jehanabad Lok Sabha seats and will continue till 6 pm.

Patliputra recorded the highest turnout at 40.78 per cent, followed by Karakat (39.53), Buxar (37.79), Sasaram (37.12), Jehanabad (36.66), Arrah (33.07), Nalanda (32.94) and Patna Sahib (29.22) till 1 pm.

Voting is also underway for the by-election to the Agiaon assembly segment under the Arrah Lok Sabha seat. Around 33.10 per cent turnout was recorded in the by-poll till 1 pm.

The by-election was necessitated due to the disqualification of CPI (ML) Liberation MLA Manoj Manzil following his conviction in a murder case.

The Left party's candidate in the by-poll is Shiv Prakash Ranjan, while the NDA has fielded Prabhunath Prasad of JD(U).

In the last phase of Lok Sabha polls, over 1.62 crore people will decide the fate of 134 candidates in 16,634 polling stations, with 3,885 in urban areas.

Bihar Governor Rajendra V Arlekar cast his vote at a polling booth on the Raj Bhavan premises, while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar exercised his franchise at a polling centre in Bakhtiyarpur under the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat.

"I urge people to exercise their franchise in large numbers. It's 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.

Talking to reporters after exercising her franchise, Acharya, who is contesting from the Saran Lok Sabha seat as a 'Mahagathbandhan' nominee, told reporters, "I cast my vote for the safety, security and respect of the women of Manipur." Over 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence in Manipur between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjacent hills-based 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 principal challenger is Sudama Prasad, a sitting MLA of CPI (ML) Liberation.

In Patna Sahib, veteran BJP parliamentarian Ravi Shankar Prasad is vying for a second consecutive Lok Sabha term, with Congress spokesperson Anshul Avijit as his principal challenger.

RJD president Lalu Prasad's eldest daughter Misa Bharti is contesting for the third time in Pataliputra, while BJP MP Ram Kripal Yadav is aiming for a hat-trick.

In Nalanda, the home district of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, incumbent MP Kaushlendra Kumar hopes to retain the seat for JD(U), with Sandeep Saurav, a sitting CPI (ML) MLA, as the principal challenger.

Upendra Kushwaha, former Union minister and head of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, is hopeful of regaining the Karakat seat, following his return to the BJP-led coalition.

Karakat is witnessing a multi-cornered fight, notably with Bhojpuri superstar Pawan Singh contesting as an Independent.