Lok Sabha elections in Bihar: 70.37 lakh electors to decide fate of 44 candidates today

PATNA: Altogether 70.37 lakh electors would seal the fate of 44 candidates in the four Maoist affected Lok Sabha constituencies of Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada and Jamui in the first phase of polls on Thursday. Prominent among the faces in the fray are Sushil Kumar Singh and Upendra Prasad (Aurangabad), Jitan Ram Manjhi and Vijay Manjhi (Gaya), Chirag Paswan and Bhudeo Choudhary (Jamui) besides Chandan Kumar and Vibha Devi (Nawada).
More than 41,000 security personnel have been deployed to ensure peaceful election. The Election Commission of India has also deployed accessibility observers for the first time to facilitate maximum turnout of electors with disabilities.
Additional chief electoral officer (Bihar) Sanjay Kumar Singh said the commission would monitor live the movement of sector magistrates and patrolling parties through a mobile application named ele-traces. “The facility will be used by senior officials to direct movement of the teams to required places during polling,” he told TOI.
Singh said all the critical and Maoist effected polling stations would be manned by paramilitary forces. “Other booths may have deployment of district armed police or Bihar Military Police personnel,” he said.
Singh also said a fixed-wing aircraft as air ambulance along with an Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper would be stationed at Gaya while another IAF chopper would be available at Jamui for any emergency situation. “Both the choppers would be for recce, surveillance and shifting security personnel, if required,” he said.
He also said a large number of micro observers have been deployed for critical booths so that the vulnerable electors are not bullied by hooligans and simultaneous required action could be taken against such elements. He also said the polling arrangements would be webcast from around 350 booths falling under critical category and officials would monitor them continuously.
The 41,000 security personnel deployed include around 17,000 personnel from outside state comprising 36 companies of Central Reserve Police Force, 32 companies of Sashastra Seema Bal, 20 companies of India Reserve Battalion, 15 companies of Railway Protection Force, seven companies of CISF, three companies of ITBP, four companies each of BSF and Madhya Pradesh Armed Police and three companies of Haryana Armed Police.
In Aurangabad, 17.37 lakh electors will exercise their franchise at total 1,965 polling stations. Gaya has 1,772 polling booths for 16.98 lakh electors while Nawada has 1,899 polling stations for 18.92 lakh electors and 17.09 lakh electors will vote at 1,850 booths in Jamui.
Aurangabad DM Rahul Ranjan Mahiwal said polling will be held between 7am and 4pm in the Tekari, Gurua, Imamganj, Kutumba and Rafiganj assembly segments due to the Maoist menace, but people in Aurangabad assembly segment will cast their votes till 6pm, he said.
Gaya DM Abhishek Singh said, “Polling in Sherghati, Barachatti and Bodh Gaya assembly segments would conclude at 4pm.”
Polling will end at 4pm in Rajauli and Govindpur assembly segments of Nawada parliamentary constituency while Hisua, Nawada, Warisaliganj and Barbigha segments would have normal polling hours till 6pm, said Nawada DM Kaushal Kumar.
Jamui DM Dharmendra Kumar said except in Sheikhpura segment, poling everywhere else in the Lok Sabha constituency will end at 4pm.