Election Commission registers 9.53 pc early polling in Bihar

Patna (The Uttam Hindu): Polling for four Assembly constituencies in Bihar began at 7 A.M. on Wednesday and the Election Commission of India has registered 9.53 per cent polling in the first two hours. As of 9 A.M. the Election Commission reported the highest voter turnout in the Ramgarh constituency, with 11.35 per cent turnout. The other constituencies showed slightly lower participation in the first two hours, with 9.3 per cent in Tarari, 9.12 per cent in Belaganj, and 8.46 per cent in Imamganj.

Polling hours vary slightly: Voting is open until 5 P.M. in Ramgarh, Tarari, and Belaganj, while in Imamganj, polling will close an hour earlier, at 4 P.M. Imamganj is considered as a Naxal-affected area in Gaya district. The bypolls for the four vacant Assembly seats in Bihar —Belaganj, Ramgarh, Tarari, and Imamganj — are crucial as three of these constituencies were previously held by leaders from the Grand Alliance, a coalition of parties led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and Left parties’ allied groups.

The Ramgarh Assembly seat in Kaimur District was previously held by Sudhakar Singh. He is also from the RJD and resigned after winning the Buxar Lok Sabha seat. Tarari Assembly constituency in Bhojpur District was won by Sudama Prasad in 2020 as part of the Grand Alliance. He is a leader of the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) and vacated his seat after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Arrah parliamentary constituency. Belaganj Assembly seat in Gaya District became vacant after RJD leader Surendra Prasad Yadav won the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Jehanabad parliamentary seat and resigned from his MLA post.

Imamganj Assembly constituency comes under Gaya District and former Chief Minister and patron of Hindustani Awam Morcha Secular (HAMS), Jitan Ram Manjhi, resigned as MLA after winning the Lok Sabha seat from Gaya (reserved). The result of these bypolls will be announced on November 23. The Tarari Assembly constituency has 332 polling stations including 304 in rural areas and 28 in urban areas. Similarly, Ramgarh has 282 polling stations in rural areas and 12 in urban areas. Imamganj has 329 polling stations in rural areas and 17 in urban areas and Belaganj has 281 polling stations in rural areas and 24 in urban areas.

The election commission is using 459 ballot units, 463 control units and 488 VVPATs in the Tarari Assembly constituency. In Ramgarh, the poll commission is using 409 ballot units, 409 control units and 436 VVPATs. In Imamganj, the Election Commission is using 469 ballot units, 471 control units and 496 VVPATs. The poll commission is using 417 ballot units, 414 control units and 448 VVPATs in Belaganj. A total of two candidates are contesting on the tickets of BSP, three candidates on the RJD tickets, two candidates of BJP and one each of HAMS, JD(U) and CPI-ML.