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Bihar Assembly speaker and BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav voted at a polling booth in Patna Sahib Assembly Constituency on Thursday in the first phase of assembly elections, urging people to exercise their franchise in the festival of democracy.
Speaking to reporters, Yadav said, "This is the festival of democracy. I appeal to everyone to come out and vote to form a good government in Bihar. Everyone must exercise their right to vote." The BJP has fielded 45-year-old Ratnesh Kumar (also known as Ratnesh Khushwaha) for the seat, while the Congress has fielded 34-year-old Shashant Shekhar from the Patna Sahib constituency. The Patna Sahib seat has been a BJP stronghold since 2010, with Nand Kishore Yadav, the current Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly, representing the constituency. However, Yadav is not contesting this time, having not received a ticket from the party. Meanwhile, Bihar recorded a brisk voter turnout of 42.31 per cent as of 1 pm in the first phase of assembly elections, as per the data of the Election Commission of India. Among the 18 districts, Gopalganj recorded the highest turnout of 46.73 per cent, followed by Lakhisarai with 46.37 per cent and Begusarai with 46.02 per cent, till 1 pm. Patna, the capital of Bihar, continues to record sluggish voter turnout among all districts with a turnout of 37.72 per cent. A turnout of 41.15 per cent was recorded in Bhojpur, followed by 41.10 per cent in Buxar, 39.35 per cent in Darbhanga, 42.94 per cent in Khagaria, 44.16 per cent in Madhepura, 41.47 per cent in Munger, 45.41 per cent in Muzaffarpur, 41.87 per cent in Nalanda, 44.20 per cent in Saharsa, 43.03 per cent in Samastipur, 43.06 per cent in Saran, 41.23 per cent in Sheikhpura, 41.20 per cent in Siwan and 42.60 per cent in Vaishali - all as of 1 pm. Among the key constituencies, Raghopur recorded a turnout of 43.3 per cent, Mahua 40.41 per cent, Alinagar 37.50 per cent, Tarapur 44.35 per cent, Lakhisarai 44.20 per cent, Chapra 39.57 per cent, Bankipur 25 per cent, Phulwari 40.98 per cent, Raghunathpur 42.23 per cent, Siwan 40.19 per cent and Mokama 41.78 per cent. The first phase of the 2025 Assembly elections in Bihar commenced on Thursday at 7:00 am across 121 constituencies in 18 districts of the state, covering approximately 3.75 crore electors. Polling will conclude at 6 pm, and due to security considerations, polling time has been curtailed to 5 pm in some constituencies. The first phase will decide the fate of several senior leaders, including RJD's Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Mangal Pandey and JD(U)'s Shravan Kumar and Vijay Kumar Choudhary. Tej Pratap Yadav is also in the fray in the first phase. In 2020, polling took place in three phases. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had secured 125 seats, while the opposition won 110. Among the major parties, the Janata Dal (United) bagged 43 seats, the BJP bagged 74, the RJD secured 75 seats and the Congress 19. The JD(U) contested 115 constituencies, and the BJP 110, whereas the RJD contested 144 seats and the Congress 70. (ANI)
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