Patna: The second and concluding phase of the Bihar Assembly elections experienced a strong voter turnout on Tuesday, with 60.40% of eligible voters having cast their ballots across 20 districts by 3pm, according to the Election Commission of India. Kishanganj achieved the highest turnout at 66.10%, followed by Purnia at 64.22%, Katihar at 63.80%, Jamui at 63.33%, and Banka at 63.03%. Strong participation was also noted in West Champaran (61.99%) and East Champaran (61.92%). In total, 37,013,556 voters are registered for this phase, distributed among 45,399 polling stations. This includes 19,544,041 men, 17,468,572 women, and 943 third-gender voters. Hisua is the largest constituency by registered voters. Polling commenced early in the morning and will continue until 5pm.
The outcomes for 1,302 candidates vying for 122 assembly seats will be determined by Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) by the day’s end. Officials anticipate that the final turnout will exceed that of the first phase, indicating substantial public engagement in this election cycle. Vote counting is set to take place on November 14. In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, the distribution of seats in these 122 constituencies was as follows: BJP won 42, RJD 33, JD(U) 20, Congress 11, CPI (ML) 5, AIMIM 5, HAM 4, BSP 1, with one seat going to an independent candidate.