The North News
New Delhi, November 7
The first phase of the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections concluded peacefully on Thursday with a record voter turnout of 64.66%, the highest ever in the state’s electoral history. Officials described the atmosphere at polling stations across Bihar as “festive” and largely incident-free. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), 121 Assembly constituencies across 18 districts went to the polls, with more than 3.75 crore registered voters participating.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi, monitored the proceedings closely from the ECI control room in Delhi through 100 percent live webcasting—a first for Bihar. The CEC personally interacted with Presiding Officers and District Election Officers to ensure smooth conduct of the polls, said the official statement issued by the government.
The Election Commission said that over four lakh polling staff had reached their respective stations by late Wednesday night, and mock polls were completed before 7 AM in the presence of nearly 68,000 polling agents representing more than 1,300 candidates. Voting began simultaneously at all 45,341 polling stations.
In another first, 16 international delegates from six countries — including South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Belgium, and Colombia — witnessed the polling process as part of the International Election Visitors’ Programme (IEVP). The observers praised the Bihar elections as “one of the most transparent, efficient and participative” they had seen.
The ECI also introduced several voter-friendly measures. These included the use of coloured photographs of candidates on EVM ballot papers, mobile deposit facilities at polling booths, and redesigned voter information slips for easier readability. To reduce crowding, the number of voters per booth was capped at 1,200.
Special attention was given to women and differently-abled voters. Over 90,000 Jeevika Didis (female volunteers) were deployed to assist purdahnasheen women, while wheelchairs and E-rickshaw services were provided at all polling stations for PwD voters.
