Bihar Achieves Record Voter Turnout in Assembly Elections: A Historic Milestone

Historic Voter Engagement in Bihar's Assembly Elections

New Delhi: In a remarkable achievement, Bihar has recorded its highest voter turnout ever during the first phase of the Assembly elections, with 64.66% of the 3.75 crore eligible voters participating at polling stations statewide.

The Election Commission (EC) announced that the initial phase of the Bihar elections concluded smoothly, marking a historic turnout of 64.66%, the highest in the state's electoral history.

This phase involved voting in 121 constituencies across 18 districts, with an electorate exceeding 3.75 crore.

Historically, the first Assembly elections in Bihar during 1951-52 saw the lowest turnout at just 42.6%.

Previously, the highest turnout was recorded in 2000, reaching 62.57%.

In contrast, the 2020 Assembly elections, held amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, saw a turnout of 57.29%.

The first Lok Sabha elections in 1951-52 also reflected a low turnout of 40.35%.

However, the 1998 parliamentary elections witnessed a peak turnout of 64.6%.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar praised the citizens of Bihar for their unprecedented participation in the first phase of the Assembly elections since 1951.

He expressed gratitude to the voters for their trust in the EC and their enthusiastic turnout.

Kumar also acknowledged the election officials for their commitment to transparency and diligence.

Over 400,000 polling staff were stationed at their respective locations by Wednesday night. Mock polling was completed by 7 AM on Thursday, with more than 67,902 polling agents from 1,314 candidates present.

Voting commenced without incident at all 45,341 polling stations simultaneously.

Additionally, over 90,000 'Jeevika Didis' (women volunteers) were deployed, along with one police officer per polling station, to assist in identifying 'purdahnasheen' (burqa or ghunghat-clad) women.