57% voting recorded in six Lok Sabha seats in Bihar

Nearly 57 per cent voting was recorded in six Lok Sabha seats in Bihar which went to poll in the sixth and final phase of election on Monday.

The voting percentage was over 12 per cent higher in these seats than that in the last general elections in 2009.

Valmikinagar saw voter turnout of 57 per cent, while it was 60 per cent in West Champaran, East Champaran 56 per cent each, Vaishali 57.5 per cent, Gopalganj (SC) 54 and Siwan 56 per cent, an Election Commission statement said.

Against 56.67 voting percentage in the six seats on Monday the corresponding percentage in 2009 poll was 44.35 per cent.

Notwithstanding soaring temperature which reached almost 43 degrees celsius, voter enthusiasm, particularly among women, were witnessed across all polling stations.

In Meenapur block of Vaishali, an elderly woman was seen arriving at a booth in a cart to cast her vote.

A large number of burqa-clad women were seen standing in queue outsides booths in Siwan parliamentary constituency.

RJD candidate from Siwan Heena Sahbab stood with women in the queue to vote.

In Gopalganj, an FIR was lodged against ruling JD(U) MLA, Amrendra Kumar Pandey alias Pappu Pandey along with nine aides for allegedly attacking a voter, Jairam Tiwari, outside a booth.

Two of the MLA’s aides have been arrested while a raid to nab him was on, the police in Gopalganj said.

There were also reports of fights between BJP and JD(U) workers at some booths in East Champaran.

Complaints of problems in EVMs were reported from some booths in Gopalganj, East Champaran and elsewhere, the statement said.

Film-maker Prakash Jha and former Union minister Raghubansh Prasad Singh were among the 90 candidates contesting from the six seats.

The Election Commission reduced the duration of polling by two hours in five assembly segments in view of perceived Maoist threat.

About 58,000 security personnel were deployed in the last of Lok Sabha elections in the state.