Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, and INDIA bloc’s chief ministerial candidate, Tejashwi Yadav, were among the top leaders who cast their votes on Thursday as the first phase of assembly elections kicked-off for 121 constituencies.
Of the 3.75 crore registered voters who will exercise their franchise in these elections, the first polling day on November 6 saw 27.65 per cent voter turnout till 11 am. Begusarai district recorded the highest polling percentage at 30.37, followed by Lakhisarai (30.32) and Gopalganj (30.04).
Reigning chief minister Kumar cast his vote in his hometown, Bakhtiarpur. He later posted on X, saying, “Voting is not only a right but also a duty of citizens in democracy.”
Meanwhile, the Deputy CM, Samrat Choudhary, voted in Tarapur, and also posted on his X handle: “The work done by Nitish Kumar should continue. A lot of effort has gone into the transformation we are witnessing today. Vote for development.”
Others in fray in phase 1 of Bihar polls include Union minister, Giriraj Singh, who cast his vote in Lakhisarai. Defending the identity-checks of burqa-clad women, he said it will prevent ‘vote chori’ (vote theft).
“This is not religious bias... We are not living in Pakistan. Neither will Bihar have a Tejashwi Yadav government, nor will Sharia law be implemented here,” he said.
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The day is equally important for Tejashwi Yadav, who, along with his family members, including RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, cast his vote at a booth in Veterinary College in Patna.
“I appeal to the youth to bring a change by installing a new government,” Tejashwi appealed, with his mother, Rabri Devi, too asking people “to vote and bring a change”.
She wished both her sons, Tejashwi and Tej Pratap, success in the elections.
Tejashwi’s sister, Rohini Acharya, said she was confident that people will defeat the “double-engine government” this time.
“This time, people of Bihar will choose Tejashwi, the one who has provided employment. All our unemployed brothers will get jobs, and those who are struggling and wandering outside the state will also get relief,” she said, but did not take her other brother, Tej Pratap’s name, who is the incumbent Hasanpur MLA, and contesting from Mahua, a seat he first won in 2015 during his electoral debut on an RJD ticket.
Tej Pratap, the Janshakti Janata Dal president and elder son of Lalu Prasad, too cast his vote Veterinary College Ground polling booth in Patna, and said, “All people of Bihar should vote. Each vote is important”.
RJD candidate from Chapra seat, Khesari Lal Yadav, who cast his vote in Ekma in Saran district, said, “This is the second innings of my life, and with the love people have for me, I believe things will only get better, they have so far. Nothing in this world is easy; everything takes effort. For those who are determined, work is never a burden... I just want everything to be built, not just the Ram temple, but all that people need.”
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