Over 48% voter turnout recorded in eight LS seats in Bihar till 5 pm

Patna: Bihar registered 48.86 per cent voter turnout in eight Lok Sabha constituencies till 5 pm on Saturday, 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 56.86 per cent, followed by Buxar (52.29), Jehanabad (50.23), Karakat (49.16), Sasaram (48.86), Arrah (46.49), Nalanda (45.19) and Patna Sahib (43.40) till 5 pm. Of the 1.62 crore voters eligible to cast their votes around 48.86 per cent had cast their votes till 5 pm, they said.

Voting is also underway in the by-election to the Agiaon assembly segment under the Arrah Lok Sabha seat where 44.40 per cent turnout was recorded till 5 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 bypoll is Shiv Prakash Ranjan, while the NDA has fielded Prabhunath Prasad of JD(U).

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 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 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." District authorities have already been instructed to make necessary arrangements for dealing with heatwave during the polls. They have been instructed to implement heatwave mitigation plans as per ECI guidelines, officials said.

"The state is reeling under sizzling heat as the mercury crossed 43 degrees Celsius at several places on Friday. Authorities concerned have been asked to ensure sufficient drinking water in polling booths for voters, polling parties, security, polling agents etc," they said.

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 opponent.

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.