Unidentified individuals hurled stones, cow dung, and slippers at the convoy of Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha in Bihar's Lakhisarai district on the day of polling, leading the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to allege that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) was behind the orchestration of the attack.
Sinha, who has been elected as an MLA three times and is running in the Bihar Assembly elections from the Lakhisarai constituency, stated that the attack was executed by supporters of the RJD in an effort to prevent him from visiting Khoriari village.
Video footage of the event captured a group of people encircling Sinha's vehicle, raising slogans, and blocking the progress of his convoy. Multiple individuals could be heard shouting 'murdabad' slogans while halting the BJP leader's convoy from proceeding into the village.
"These are RJD's goons. They know the NDA is returning to power, that's why they have resorted to hooliganism. They turned away my polling agent and didn’t let him vote. Look at their behaviour at booths 404 and 405 in Khoriari," Sinha said.
Sinha further called for the deployment of central forces, describing the district police as "cowardly and weak," and declared his intention to stage a protest in the same village. Nevertheless, the police stated that the incident involved a protest by local villagers and affirmed that the situation was under control.
In response to the episode, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar declared that no one would be permitted to disrupt law and order and instructed the Bihar Director General of Police (DGP) to take stringent action against the miscreants.
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Earlier that day, Sinha went to the Jagdamba Temple to perform prayers prior to exercising his vote in the initial phase of the Bihar elections, in which the primary rivalry is between the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Mahagathbandhan led by the RJD.
A voter turnout of 42.31 per cent was registered by 1 pm in Bihar, where voting is taking place across 121 out of the state's 243 constituencies.
The first phase will determine the outcomes for various ministers and prominent RJD leaders, including Tejashwi Yadav and his brother Tej Pratap. Among the closely watched constituencies are Raghopur, where Tejashwi is aiming for a third straight victory; Mahua, where Tej Pratap is in the race; and Tarapur, the constituency from which Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary is contesting.
Also Read: Bihar Assembly Elections Live: High women voter turnout
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