Patna: Braving intense heat and defying Naxal threats, about 52 per cent of the electorate on Thursday cast their ballot for the first of the six-phased Lok Sabha polls in Bihar.
While Sasaram(SC) recorded a voter turnout of 55 per cent, Karakat recorded a turnout out of 52 per cent, 50 per cent in Aurangabad, 53.5 per cent in Gaya(SC), 51 per cent in Nawada, 50 per cent in Jamui(SC).
The constituencies where polling is being held, are Sasaram (SC), Karakat, Aurangabad, Gaya (SC), Nawada and Jamui (SC).
About an hour and a half before the start of polling, Naxals triggered a bomb blast in Munger, killing two CRPF personnel and injuring three others, when they were on their way to a polling station in Jamui parliamentary constituency.
Of the 80 candidates, including 10 women, the electoral fate of outgoing Speaker of the Lok Sabha Meira Kumar, former Kerala governor Nikhil Kumar and actor-turned-politician Chirag Paswan, son of LJP president Ramvilas Paswan will be decided.
Meira is seeking re-election for the third consecutive term from Sasaram, her home turf, which elected her father and Dalit icon Babu Jagjivan Ram eight times since independence to 1984.
Chirag Paswan is debuting in Jamui (SC) seat and is pitted against Assembly speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary of JDU.
While a resurgent BJP is claiming that it would bag a major chunk of the 40 seats in the state, the RJD-Congress alliance and the tie-up of JDU and CPI are equally determined to corner maximum number of seats.
Of the total electorate, women voters number 49,73,691 surpassing the number of men at 43,55,752.
Altogether 9,781 polling stations have been set up.
(With additional inputs from PTI)
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