53.55% turnout in last leg of Bihar polls

PATNA: An estimated 53.55% of the 1.52 crore electorate voted in the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha polls held for the eight seats in Bihar on Sunday. Barring police firing and sporadic incidents of violence at a few places in Nalanda, Buxar and Ara, polling passed off peacefully.
The fate of altogether 157 contestants, including four Union ministers, has been sealed in the EVMs in Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Nalanda, Jehanabad, Karakat, Sasaram, Buxar and Ara that went to the polls on Sunday.
Chief electoral officer (CEO), Bihar, H R Srinivasa said the final phase polling was a little over 2% more than the 51.49% in 2014 general election in the eight constituencies. Sasaram (SC) recorded the highest 57.74% voter turnout, followed by 57.26% in Pataliputra, 55.60% in Buxar, 55% in Karakat, 54.40% in Nalanda, 54% in Jehanabad, 52.60% in Ara and the lowest 43.60% in Patna Sahib.
Srinivasa said in 2014, Nalanda had recorded 47.23% of polling, Patna Sahib 45.36 %, Pataliputra 56.38%, Ara 48.96%, Buxar 54.19%, Sasaram (SC) 52.72%, Karakat 50.01% and Jehanabad had 57% voter turnout.
He said district electoral officer of Patna Sahib has been asked to submit a detailed report on the thrashing of a photojournalist by the supporters and private security guards of RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav outside the veterinary college booth in the city.
To a question, Srinivasa said disciplinary action would be taken against the erring personnel whose lapses led to mismatching of the photograph of RJD leader and former deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav.
The CEO said three complaints of poll boycott on issues related to road and bridges and one complaint of bogus voting were received from Pataliputra, Nalanda and Buxar parliamentary constituencies.
Altogether 211 complaints pertaining to EVM glitches and other minor issues were received at the control room. Of them, 206 complaints were disposed of and the remaining five were under the consideration of the commission, he added.
In all, 77 persons were arrested and six motorbikes were seized for vitiating the poll process and damaging EVMs.
In Nalanda, the residents of Chandaura assaulted Rajgir BDO Ranjan Lal Nigam when he persuaded people to cast their votes despite a poll boycott call. Srinivasa said, “Ï have asked the officials concerned to lodge an FIR and initiate action against the offenders. Nobody found to be vitiating the poll process will be spared.”
Police had to open fire at a polling booth at Sakurana village under the Dulhin Bazar police station area in Pataliputra Lok Sabha constituency when a group of people attempted to cast bogus votes. A similar incident happened at a polling booth under Rajpur assembly segment of Buxar Lok Sabha constituency.
The security personnel were pelted with stones at a polling booth under Atri assembly segment of Jehanabad Lok Sabha constituency. In Buxar, four policemen suffered injuries when they intervened after two groups of people clashed under Krishna Gram police station area.
Polling observer for Sasaram Lok Sabha constituency, Sanjay Kumar, ordered the removal of all the polling personnel from a polling booth located at Khurdabad in Kaimur district after he found the allegations by some voters of being intimidated to be true. A police constable of the Maharashtra state police suffered serious injuries in a poll-related incident at Nainijhor under the Simri police station in Buxar district.
ADG (headquarters) Kundan Krishnan, who was present at the press briefing, said, “No major incident of violence was reported from any of the eight constituencies today. “One Guddu Mukhiya was arrested from Nalanda,” he added.
There was 56% voter turnout in the byelection for Dehri assembly seat. Altogether 2.89 lakh electorate will decide the fate of 12 contestants in the fray. The seat had fallen vacant after the conviction of RJD MLA Mohammed Illiyas Hussain in the bitumen scam case.