Polling in Bihar peaceful, brisk voting in UP

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Apr 24, 2014 at 12:03 PM

Patna, April 24 :

Voting for seven Lok Sabha seats and two state assembly seats in Bihar Thursday is underway peacefully, an official said.

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Additional Chief Electoral Officer R. Lakhshaman said around eight to nine percent of the electorate voted in the initial two hours of polling.

“So far polls are peaceful with no report of violence,” he said.

He said long queues of people at polling booths were seen since morning, particularly in rural areas.

Voting is underway in Kishanganj, Purnea, Araria, Katihar, Supaul, Bhagalpur and Banka parliamentary constituencies.

Over 10 million electorate, including nearly five million women, will decide the fate of 108 Lok Sabha candidates, including seven women, and 10 assembly candidates who are in the fray.

This is the third round of polling in the state that sends 40 lawmakers to parliament.

Bihar’s most backward pockets with high percentage of poverty, illiteracy and migration are part of the five constituencies – Kishanganj, Purnea, Araria, Katihar and Supaul – known as the Seemanchal region as they share border with Nepal, Bangladesh or West Bengal.

Prominent among those who are in the fray are Tarique Anwar of the NCP, lone union minister from Bihar in Congerss led UPA government, BJP’s Muslim face and former union minister Shahnawaz Hussain, RJD’s strongman and former union minister Mohammad Taslimuddin, and former MP Ranjeet Ranjan, wife of controversial former MP Pappu Yadav.

Brisk voting in UP

Polling was underway in 12 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh Thursday, with thousands of men and women trooping to the polling centres from early morning.

In just two hours of balloting until 9 a.m., 16 percent people had voted in Firozabad followed by Mathura (13 percent) and around 10 percent in Etah, Fatehpur, Agra, Firozabad and Hathras.

As many as 188 candidates are in the fray in the third round of polling in the politically crucial state which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha.

Balloting is on at 21,946 polling stations. Around 20 million voters, including nine million women, are eligible to vote.

The first two rounds saw 21 Lok Sabha constituencies going to the polls.

(IANS)