Polling percentage of 55 per cent was recorded in 32 constituencies spread over six Naxal-hit districts of Bihar in the second phase of State Assembly polls, the Election Commission said on Friday.
As it happened:
4.06 pm: 51.11 per cent turnout till 4 pm; poll ends in 23 naxal-hit seats with no incidents of violence.
3:03 pm: Poll ends in 11 most sensitive Maoist-affected constituencies at 3 pm; 47 per cent turnout till 2 pm; voting will end in 12 seats at 4 pm while in nine constituencies it will end at 5 pm.
11:45 am : Hundreds of voters cast their ballots at seven polling booths in Bihar’s Gaya district managed by an all-women staff.
11 am: 30 per cent voter turnout has been registered till 11 a.m. Voting has been peaceful in all Maoist-hit districts.
10: 30 am: 16 per cent voter turnout registered till 10 a.m.
9: 12 am: Reports are coming in that EVM machines not functioning properly in a few constituencies.
9: am: A cane bomb has been found at booth No: 144 in Rafiganj assembly constituency in the naxal-affected district of Aurangabad district. Para-military forces have cordoned off the area and bomb disposal force has been summoned.
8: 30 am: There has been a voter turnout of 5.59 per cent in the first one hour, our correspondent Amarnath Tewary reports from Bihar.
8 am: A total of 86,13,870 electors are expected to decide the fate of 456 candidates, 32 out of whom are women. There are 9,119 polling stations.
7: 30 am: This phase sees many key players pitted against each other.
- Former Chief Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi is pitted against JD(U) candidate and Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhury in Imamganj (reserved) seat of Gaya district.
- Senior BJP leader and MLA Prem Kumar is in the fray in Gaya town seat while the former State BJP chief Gopal Narayan Singh is contesting from Nabinagar seat in Aurangabad.
7 am: Voting starts at 7 a.m. in all 32 constituencies but it will end at 3 p.m. in 11 constituencies and at 4 p.m. in 12 others. Only 9 seats will have scheduled voting from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Here is a list of all constituencies going to polls today:
| Phase - II constituencies | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ramgarh | Mohania (SC) | Bhabua | Chainpur |
| Chenari (SC) | Sasaram | Kargahar | Dinara |
| Nokha | Dehri | Karakat | Arwal |
| Kurtha | Jahanabad | Ghosi | Makhadumapur (SC) |
| Goh | Obra | Nabinagar | Kutumba (SC) |
| Aurangabad | Rafiganj | Gurua | Sherghati |
| Imamganj (SC) | Barachatti (SC) | Bodh Gaya (SC) | Gaya Town |
| Tikari | Belaganj | Atri | Wazirganj |
