Over 52% polling recorded in five LS seats in Bihar till 5 pm

Patna: A voter turnout of 52.35 per cent was recorded in five Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar till 5 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, said a senior official at the CEO's office.

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

Around 55.30 per cent of voters have exercised their franchise in Muzaffarpur, 53.81 per cent in Hajipur, 53.13 per cent in Sitamarhi, 50.46 per cent in Saran and 49.01 per cent in Madhubani till 5 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 Samrat Chaudhary said, "Voting is going on 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.

"I urge people to exercise their franchise in large numbers. It's a festival of democracy," he said after casting his vote.

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 saffron party 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.