Nitish congratulates electors for record voter turnout of 65 pc in 1st phase of Bihar polls

Patna, Nov 7 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday congratulated electors for the record 64.66 per cent voter turnout in the first phase of the assembly elections a day ago and urged people to exercise their franchise with the same enthusiasm in the second round of polling on November 11.

In a statement, the Election Commission on Thursday said the first phase of the assembly elections concluded peacefully "in a festive mood with the highest ever voter turnout of 64.66 per cent in the history of Bihar".

The polling was held in 121 assembly seats.

In a post on X, the CM wrote, “Heartfelt thanks to the people of Bihar for the record voting in the first phase. Bihar has made unprecedented progress in the past year. Now, it is time to include Bihar in the category of the most developed states. In democracy, voting is not only our right but also our duty." He appealed to the people of Bihar to "vote with the same enthusiasm in the second phase on November 11, so that Bihar progresses further".

"Let there be respect for all, development for all," he wrote.

Polling was held across 18 districts, with Muzaffarpur and Samastipur recording the highest turnouts, as per the EC data on Thursday.

Muzaffarpur recorded a turnout of 70.96 per cent, while the polling percentage in Samastipur stood at 70.63, Madhepura at 67.21 per cent, Vaishali at 67.37 per cent, Saharsa at 66.84 per cent, Khagaria at 66.36 per cent, Lakhisarai at 65.05 per cent, and Munger at 60.40 per cent.

Siwan registered a voter turnout of 60.31 per cent, Nalanda of 58.91 per cent, and Patna of 57.93 per cent.

According to the EC, the assembly elections of 1951-52 saw the lowest voter turnout in the state at 42.6 per cent, while the figure in the first phase of the polls was higher than the polling percentage (62.67) recorded in 2000, and roughly equal to what was registered in the state in the 1998 Lok Sabha polls. PTI PKD BDC