Historic polling in Ph 1 of Bihar elections: EC

The high-stakes assembly elections in Bihar kicked off on Thursday with the first phase recording a provisional turnout till 6pm of 64.66%, a figure the Election Commission of India described as the “highest ever” in the eastern state.

- Ruchir Kumar and Vrinda Tulsian

Polling for the 121 seats across 18 districts was largely peaceful but also saw sporadic incidents of violence and allegations of irregularities by the Opposition. The next phase of the elections, where 122 seats go to the polls, is on November 11 and the counting of votes is on November 14.

“The first phase of the Bihar legislative assembly elections concluded peacefully in a festive mood today with the highest ever voter turnout of 64.66% in the history of Bihar,” said an ECI statement.

The poll also released statistics that showed that the previous highs for the assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Bihar were recorded in 2000 (62.57%) and 1998 (64.6%). To be sure, these figures were for the full election and not a provisional turnout number for one particular phase.

"Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar congratulates the electors of Bihar for the historic voter turnout in Phase I of assembly elections since 1951," said a statement by the office of the chief electoral officer (CEO), Bihar.

The turnout number comes against the backdrop of the controversial special intensive revision of numbers in Bihar earlier this year, when roughly 6.9 million names were deleted from the rolls and 2.15 million names were added. The exercise, which was championed by ECI but sharply criticised by the Opposition, trimmed the electoral roll of Bihar from 78.9 million people to 74.2 million.

But an analysis of numbers by HT also showed that the absolute number of voters who cast their franchise on Thursday might end up being higher than the number of voters in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls or the 2020 assembly elections.