Bihar sees 37 percent voter turnout by 1 pm

Patna: Around 37 percent polling was recorded till 1 PM in seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar where voting is underway in the third phase today. Supual registered 39 percent voting till 1 PM, while it was 38 percent in Araria, 37 percent in Kisanganj, 38 percent in Katihar, 37 percent in Purnia, 35 percent in Bhagalpur and also in Banka, the Election Commission said in a statement. There was report of delay in polling in 20 booths in Katihar due to snags in EVM machines. There were also reports of technical problems in EVMs in some other constituencies also which were rectified later, election office sources said. [caption id=“attachment_1495223” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Image used for representational purposes. AFP.[/caption] Enthusiasm was witnessed among voters in all the seven Lok Sabha seats with people queuing up outside the booths since morning. In Katihar, a 90-year-old woman Ram Pyari was seen coming to a polling station to cast her vote after crossing a riverlet on a charpoy carried by four persons. In Purnea, an elderly woman who was the first to cast her vote in a booth was presented with flower by the poll official to motivate voters. BJP star contestant Shahnawaz Hussain took a round of polling stations in Bhagalpur to find out if there were any irregularities. Stakes are high for the party today as five of the seven seats were won by the party last time in 2009. One each were held by rivals Congress and JD(U). The five held by BJP are Araria, Katihar, Purnia, Bhagalpur and Banka. Kisangnaj was won by Congress and Supaul had gone to JD(U). NCP General Secretary Tariq Anwar and RJD’s Mohammad Taslimuddin are the other prominent contestants today. A total 108 contestants are in the fray in the seven seats. By-poll in the assembly seats of Basie in Purnea and Kochadhaman in Kisanganj saw 37 percent votes cast in the first three hours. PTI