56 per cent voting was recorded in seven Parliamentary seats of Bihar on Thursday. Queues began to form at polling stations since morning across Bihar's seven parliamentary constituencies that went to vote.
A maximum 57 per cent voting was recorded in Buxar and 56 per cent in Jehanabad Lok Sabha seats each followed by Arrah and Munger where 53, 54 per cent votes were cast respectively, the office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Bihar, said in a statement. Nalanda recorded 55 per cent and in Shatrughan's constituency Patna Sahib 52 per cent votes were cast.
Pataliputra lok sabha seat where the RJD supremo's daughter Misa Bharti, BJP's Ramkripal Yadav and JD(U)'s Ranjan Yadav are among prominent candidates recorded 52 per cent polling, it said.
Patna Sahib lok sabha seat, where the incumbent MP Shatrughan Sinha (BJP) is locked in a battle with the Congress contender Kunal Singh Yadav, has recorded 43 per cent polling. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar cast his vote at booth number 192 at the girls high school in Bakhtiyarpur under Patna Sahib parliamentary constituency.
A report from Lakhisarai said some workers of the BJP and JD(U) clashed in a bazar under Suryagraha assembly segment in Munger parliamentary seat. No one was injured in the scuffle, the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Manoj Kumar Tiwari said.
Over 11 million voters, including more than five million women, get to choose from among a total of 117 candidates who are in the fray in the second phase of polling in the state.
The official said voting was underway in Buxar, Ara, Nalanda, Jehanabad, Munger, Patliputra and Patna Sahib.
These seats are witnessing triangular contests unlike in the last polls.
Though no untoward incident was reported, voting in four booths of Munger Lok Sabha seat was adjourned midway due to suspicion of presence of landmine, Election Commission officials said.
Polling has been adjourned in booth numbers 65,71, 76 and 77 located in the jungle area of Dharhara in Munger seat, a senior EC official said.
There were reports of irregularities in EVM machines in Patna, Jehanabad, Munger and other places which were addressed and voting resumed, the official added.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi, senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, and former union minister CP Thakur were among the political leaders who casted their ballots in Patna.
Among those prominent in the fray are actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha - popularly known as Bihari babu and Shotgun; former union home secretary RK Singh, real estate baron Anil Kumar Sharma, former Bihar Police chief Asish Ranjan Sinha, former minister Ashwani Kumar Choubey and Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh, a friend of Nitish Kumar.
Sinha told reporters that results of the present Lok Sabha would be "revolutionary" for the country.
These elections are crucial for Nitish Kumar and his JD-U as also his bete noire RJD chief Lalu Prasad.
For the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the stakes are even higher as its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi hopes to get the mandate to form the next government at the Centre.
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