Bihar municipal polls: Counting of votes for 805 posts underway

Patna: The counting of votes for 31 municipal bodies in Bihar is underway on Sunday, amid tight security arrangements, a state election commission official said.

Armed police personnel have been posted at 58 centres where the counting began at 8 am for posts of ward councillors, mayors and deputy mayors, he said.

Altogether 4, 431 candidates, including 2,234 women aspirants, are in the fray for the Bihar Nagar Nikay elections. Nine of them have already been declared elected unopposed.

Elections to the 31 civic bodies were held on June 9.

The polling took place in Patna, Buxar, Rohtas, Aurangabad, Vaishali, Nalanda, Nawada, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran, West Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Kishanganj, Munger, Lakhisarai, Saharsa, Jamui and Banka districts.

The State Election Commission, Bihar used a facial recognition system (FRS) for the first time to confirm voters' identities.

The 31 urban local bodies include 24 where polls were not held in the last urban elections in December.

The five-year term of the boards of the other seven municipal bodies will end this month.

Besides, by-polls were held in seven wards in the urban local bodies where elected representatives resigned in the last few months after the December elections.