Bihar voted 53.23 percent in the first of the three-phase assembly elections today, a remarkable figure as it’s being held in the midst of Coronavirus pandemic.
The figure is slightly less than what it was in 2015 but impressive nevertheless. The people seemed to have responded to prime minister Narendra Modi’s urge to people to treat the election as festival of democracy but not without following Coronavirus safety guidelines, including maintaining social distancing and wearing a mask.
The first phase would elect 71 representatives of the state’s 243 seats. More than two crore voters would take a call on 1,066 candidates.
As many as eight minister of the Nitish Kumar cabinet are contesting this first phase. Jitan Ram Manjhi, former chief minister and head of Hindustani Awam Morcha, also figures today.
Other prominent candidates in the fray at ace shooter Shreyasi Singh, Shatrughan Sinha’s son Luv Sinha from Bankipur and Bahubali Anant Kumar Singh from Mokama constituency.
