Phase I: 54 turnout,

In an indication of changing times where development is turning out to be the determining factor for the electorate,voters from 10 polling stations spread across almost all districts in the Mithilanchal-Seemanchal belt that went to polls resorted to poll boycott to highlight the failure of development by their elected representatives over the years.

Though these are small numbers in terms of 10,868 total polling stations from 47 Assembly segments of the first phase,it is significant as the tactic was resorted to by voters in at least one polling station each from seven of the eight districts that went to polls.

There were 10 incidents where the voters resorted to poll boycott primarily on development issues, Vinod Jutshi,Deputy Election Commissioner,told reporters in New Delhi.

He said voters resorted to poll boycott at three polling stations in Madhubani district and two in Madhepura district. Voters at one polling station each in Saharsa,Araria,Kishanganj,Purnea,and Katihar districts also resorted to poll boycott. Supaul was the lone district that did not witness any such incident.

So far,no incident of booth capturing has been reported to us. There has been no clear-cut case that calls for re-poll at any of the polling stations either, Jutshi said.

Muslim-dominated Araria and Kisanganj registered highest voting percentage 57.5 per cent and 57 per cent respectively. Saharasa recorded 56 per cent turnout followed by 53 per cent in Madhubani and Supaul. Madhepura,from where most of the political heavyweights are contesting,registered the lowest 51 per cent turnout of voters.

A total of 631 candidates contested in this phase for 47 seats of which NDA held 31 in the last Assembly elections.

Meanwhile,heavyweights whose fates have been sealed in EVMs now include ministers Bijendra Yadav,Renu Kushwaha,Narendra Narayan Yadav,Ranjeet Ranjan,Lovely Anand and Choudhary Mehboob Ali Qaiser. Rural areas showed better voting percentage than town areas. The voting percentage in the first phase was better than the 2009 Lok Sabha elections average of 45 per cent.

The presiding officer at Katihar died of heart attack,according to officials.

Bihar DGP Neelmani said the police arrested 136 people as a preventive measure. A case was registered against JD-U Chhatapur Supaul nominee Niraj Kumar Bablu for misbehaving with a presiding officer, said the DGP.

A crude bomb also exploded outside a booth at Laukha in Madhubani but it caused no injuries.