The next government must look at the state of the economy and its own administrative capability before committing to any major long-term populist (but unproductive) expenditure.Bihar Election 2020 Highlights: A voter turnout of 56.02 per cent was recorded at 6 pm as polling in 78 constituencies spread across 19 districts continued for the third and final phase of Bihar Assembly elections on Saturday. In this phase, the ruling NDA, which is battling the anti-incumbency factor, is locked in a fierce contest against the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance). As many as 2.35 crore voters are eligible to decide the fate of 1,204 candidates today.
Seemanchal (Kishanganj, Araria, Katihar and Purnia), Kosi (Supaul, Saharsa and Madhepura), Mithila (Darbhanga and Madhubani) and Tirhut (Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi) regions comprise the seats going for polls in the final round. While the Seemanchal belt gives an advantage to the Mahagathbandhan, Asaduddin’s Owasi’s AIMIM, contesting on 16 seats in this round, may cut into their votes and could win one to two seats. NDA also faces a tough fight in Purnia, Araria and Katihar. In the Kosi belt too, the Grand Alliance looks ahead with only NDA veterans such as ministers, Bijendra Prasad Yadav (Supaul) and Narendra Narayan Yadav (Alamganj) looking good to retain their bastions.
Despite the pandemic, Bihar saw a considerable voter turnout with Phase 1 recording 54 per cent votes –– marginally lower than 54.75 per cent for the same seats in 2015 elections. Similarly, Phase 2 witnessed 55.7 per cent voter turnout as compared to 56.17 per cent recorded last time.
Exit polls predict advantage for Mahagathbandhan.
NDA: 55
MGB: 180
LJP: 0
Others: 8
The Opposition Grand alliance is projected to lead in the Bihar Assembly elections, but marginally short of the majority mark 122, according to the TV9 Bharatvarsh exit polls.
NDA: 116
MGB: 120
LJP: 1
Others: 6
Biomedical waste disposal team in Katihar assembly constituency.
Bihar Exit poll results: According to Republic TV-Jan ki Baat
NDA: 91-117
MGB: 118-138
LJP: 5-8
Others: 3-6
Accroding to Times Now-C-Voter:
NDA: 116
MGB: 120
LJP: 1
Others: 6
ABP News-C-Voter predicted that NDA will win 104-128 votes while Grand Alliance (Mahagatbandhan) will win 108-131 votes.
NDA: 104-128
MGB: 108-131
LJP: 1-3
Others: 4-8
Bihar voting Phase 3: 54.06% voter turnout till 5 pm.
Muzaffarpur: District election officer-cum-district officer voted with his wife.
BJP urges people to vote for "development".
Voting underway at Muzaffarpur.
Bihar voting Phase 3: 45.85% voter turnout till 3 pm.
'Nitish Kumar Ka Jungle Raj': RJD takes swipe at JD(U) government
Voting underway at Purvi Champaran district of Bihar.
A voter turn out of 34.82 per cent was registered at 1 pm.
A polling station in Begusarai today wore a deserted look after locals decided to boycott the elections, alleging lack of development in the area. The people here staged a demonstration instead.
A polling booth in Saharsa was decorated with Madhubani artwork. "It is because of the good decor and colourful setup that voters are coming in large numbers," the district magistrate told news agency ANI.
Locals today built a temporary bridge in Muzaffarpur to help voters reach a polling station. "There was no bridge to cross the water stream. We constructed this bridge for the easy movement of people. We wanted maximum people to cast their vote," a local told news agency ANI.
Bihar recorded a voter turnout of 19.77% till 11:00 am, news agency ANI reported.
Paswan added: "JD[U] candidates are cheating their BJP counterparts in this phase as well. It is my appeal to you to please vote for the BJP candidate. A single vote to the JD[U] will ensure no development in Bihar."
Taking to Twitter, LJP chief Chirag Paswan said: "In the last two phases, the people of Bihar voted for development and change. We have to teach a lesson to those against #Bihar1stBihari1st. We cannot ruin our state further. Vote in order to take the state further ahead. The LJP and BJP candidates are ahead together." Taking a swipe at CM Nitish Kumar, he said: "This year, he did not provide an account of what happened in the last five years. And five years later, he won't come to seek your blessings. He is now taking a break. Now, when he had to take our blessings, he was nowhere to be found... next time too he doesn't have to do anything."
Last week, while campaigning in Bhagalpur, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made a quick halt at the house of a friend, to meet the latter’s mother and brother Rajiv Kant Mishra, 60. Mishra talks about how he grew up among politics, with his father a friend of ex-CM Bhagwat Jha Azad (cricketer-politician Kirti Azad’s father), and elder brother Uday Kant Mishra a co-traveller of Nitish from the ’70s J P Movement. In 1981, Rajiv Kant had come to study at Delhi University’s Campus Law Faculty, while preparing for the civil services, staying at the coaching hub of Mukherjee Nagar. After failing to clear the UPSC exam, he had returned home to Bhagalpur and, in 2000, started J S Education. Bihar produces “talented, hard-working” but “shy, under-confident students”, Mishra says, adding that he started the institute to train youths in “personality development”. Click here to read more.
One person on polling duty died today after his health condition deteriorated, Muzaffarpur District Public Relations Officer, Kamal Singh, told news agency ANI. "He was an employee of in the irrigation department. The body has been sent for post-mortem and an ex gratia of Rs 15 lakhs have been announced for the deceased's family," he said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also shared a message on the last day of polling. "I urge all voters to participate in large numbers to strengthen the democracy," he tweeted.
"Seventy-eight seats are in the fray on the last phase of the Bihar Assembly elections. I appeal to the people in these constituencies to cast their vote keeping in mind their responsibilities. Please vote. Your one vote can help maintain the development work here and turn the state into a developed one," Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar tweeted.
A voter turnout of 7.69 percent was recorded till 9 am.
"On the final day of polling, I appeal to everyone to use their voting rights and come out in large numbers to vote. I especially urge the youths to do so for the welfare of the state, and ensure the others do the same," Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted.
Voting queues at Hadiyabara, Araria. Despite instructions, voters did not maintain social distancing, nor carried sanitisers or masks or gloves to the spot.
Ahead of voting, BJP chief J P Nadda tweeted: "Last phase of polling for Bihar assembly elections is taking place today. I appeal to people to vote in large numbers and vote for development of Bihar. People should ensure their participation in grand festival of democracy while keeping COVID related precautions in mind."
Voting underway at Yavanpur just outside Purnea on Saturday.
Ahead of voting, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav tweeted: “In Bihar, Ganga, Gandak and Kosi of change are flowing. The waves are on the rise. Make sure you vote for a golden future, all-round development, progressive Bihar, peace today. Cast your vote and be a companion of change."
In the heart of Kishanganj in Bihar’s Seemanchal region, stands a dwelling of a small Shia community, of around a thousand people, who trace their lineage to present-day Iran. A nondescript road from Churipatti locality leads to the Irani Basti, where hutments are lined in a crescent-like arc. Their ancestors were “horse traders who came to India centuries ago, even before the Mughal rule was established, travelled to various parts, and some settled down here”, says Nadim Hussain, 40, sitting inside a mosque after the Juloos-e-Amari procession. Outside, in the courtyard, some women are washing utensils from the community lunch that preceded the procession. Among those talking animatedly in Persian is 85-year-old Begum Khatoon, who says the community lived the life of nomads and settled down in Kishanganj half-a-century ago. “We lived in tents in Khagra on the outskirts of the city. Later, we set up our base here and people now call this Irani Basti,” she says. A few metres away from her lives Seemazar Begum with her four children and grandchildren. “My great grandfather had come here and we all (inhabitants of the Basti) are from the same family,” says the wrinkled-face Begum in Persian, whose family claims she is easily 110 years old. Click here to read more.
A queue outside a polling station in Sitamarhi's Riga as thhe electronic voting machine (EVM) at the booth stopped functioning.
Rajya Sabha MP Ahmad Ashfaque Karim cast his vote at a polling station in Katihar. "I appeal to the people of the state to exercise their right to vote so that the deserving candidates are elected," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
They speak his name with respect — and regret. In 1968, for the first time in Bihar, a Dalit became Chief Minister, though his term lasted just three months. Bhola Paswan Shastri became Chief Minister again, twice — for 13 days in 1969, and 7 months in 1971 as political turmoil overtook the state. The short tenures notwithstanding, Shastri’s village Bairgacchi remembers him as a fond son, a three-term Chief Minister, and a symbol of lost honesty. People here tell stories of a man who refused to build personal wealth, of a home that continued to be a hut long after the end of his third tenure, a man who continued to sleep on the floor. And in that, there is a tinge of regret. Click here to read more.
Voting for the third phase of Bihar elections is underway in Darbhanga and Araria.
Hoping to return to power in Bihar, the NDA is facing its toughest contest in 78 constituencies that vote on Saturday, including Seemanchal (Kishanganj, Araria, Katihar and Purnea), Kosi (Supaul, Saharsa and Madhepura), Mithila (Darbhanga and Madhuvani), and Tirhut (Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi) regions of the state. While the RJD-led Grand Alliance has a clear advantage in the Seemanchal belt, Asaduddin Owasi’s AIMIM, which is contesting 16 of its 20 seats in this phase, may cut into its vote base and even register wins. In Kosi, the NDA is pinning its hopes on its veterans in the race, such as ministers Bijendra Prasad Yadav (Supaul) and Narendra Narayan Yadav (Alamganj). Click here to read more.
Voters arrive to cast their votes at polling booth number 195 and 196 in Kishanganj on Saturday.
Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: Today is the final phase of polling in the Bihar Assembly elections. I urge all the citizens to participate in this festival of democracy to create a new record of voter turnout. And yes, don't forget to wear the mask and maintain social distancing."
Voting has begun for the third and final phase of Bihar polls.
A mock poll is underway at polling booth no 178 in Araria.
Voters in 78 constituencies spread across 19 districts will vote in the third and final phase of Bihar Assembly elections on Saturday in which the ruling NDA, battling anti-incumbency factor, is locked in a fierce contest against the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance). Seemanchal (Kishanganj, Araria, Katihar and Purnia), Kosi (Supaul, Saharsa and Madhepura), Mithila (Darbhanga and Madhubani) and Tirhut (Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi) regions comprise the seats going for polls in the final round. Follow this space for all the live updates.