Bihar polls: 54 pc voting till 3 pm, deputy CM alleges attack, Lalu calls for change of guard
Patna, (PTI): Polling was underway at a moderate pace on Thursday across 121 assembly constituencies of Bihar, where 53.77 per cent of 3.75 crore voters had exercised their franchise till 3 pm to decide the fate of over 1,000 candidates, even as Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha alleged that his convoy was attacked by RJD supporters in his home turf Lakhisarai.
Stakes are high for both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc in the first phase of the assembly elections, with several key leaders, including RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, and several ministers, in the fray.
The ruling NDA, which has been in power in the state for 20 years, except for a few brief interruptions, is banking on its image of "sushasan" (good governance) in contrast to the alleged "jungle raj" that marked the 15 years old rule of the RJD-Congress combine.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who addressed rallies in a couple of constituencies going to polls in the second and final phase, felt that the noticeably high number of women turning up to vote was a good sign for the NDA.
"Mothers, daughters and sisters have been the worst sufferers of 'jungle raj'. Today, they seem to have put up a fortress around polling booths to prevent the return of 'jungle raj'", Modi had remarked.
The NDA hopes that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s record, along with recent welfare measures such as 125 units of free power, Rs 10,000 cash transfers to over one crore women, and an increase in social security pensions, will help counter anti-incumbency.
However, the opposition dismissed the boasts of the BJP-led coalition and hoped that people would vote for a change.
RJD president Lalu Prasad, who hopes that his younger son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav will form the next government, came out with an evocative social media post, drawing the analogy of a "roti".
"If a roti is not flipped on a tawa (pan), it gets burnt. Twenty years is a long time. A Tejashwi government is essential to build a new Bihar", Prasad wrote on X.
There have also been allegations and counter-allegations from both sides on polling day.
Deputy CM Sinha, who is seeking a fourth consecutive term from Lakhisarai, claimed that one of the cars in his convoy was attacked by RJD supporters trying to “intimidate” voters belonging to extremely backward classes.
On the other hand, the RJD alleged on its X handle that voting had been "deliberately slowed down" in areas where the INDIA bloc was strongly placed, a charge promptly rejected by the Election Commission.
A notable feature of this election has been the presence of Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, which the former political strategist believes could emerge as the proverbial dark horse.
Kishor has caught public imagination with his promise of making the state "among the top-ranking ones in the country", and to this end, he has not shied away from making a few bold statements, including his public announcement that he intends to scrap the prohibition law, which has been bleeding the state dry.
Polling was being held across 18 districts, with Muzaffarpur and Gopalganj reporting turnouts above 58 per cent till 3 pm, while in state capital Patna it was 48.69 per cent.
The low turnout in Patna was largely attributed to urban constituencies such as Bankipur (34.80 per cent), Digha (31.89 per cent) and Kumhrar (37.73 per cent), where electors are known to be unenthusiastic.
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Class 12 student dies after being attacked by juniors
Kumbakonam (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): A Class 12 student of a government school near here has succumbed to his injuries early Sunday morning after he was allegedly attacked by a group of Class 11 students, police said.
Fourteen class 11 students of Government Arignar Anna Model Higher Secondary School in Patteeswaram allegedly attacked their senior student on December 4, following a clash between their respective classes, they added.
The accused students hit the boy on the head with a wooden stick, leaving him seriously injured, police said.
The boy’s parents rushed to the school on being informed and admitted him to the Government Hospital in Kumbakonam. He was later shifted to a private hospital in Thanjavur for further treatment, police said. He had to be operated on to remove the blood clot in his brain.
On Sunday, around 2.30 am, he succumbed to his injuries, police confirmed. The 14 accused have been arrested and lodged in a juvenile home.
Patteeswaram Police said they had initially registered an attempt to murder case. "After post-mortem, we’ll alter it into a murder case," an official said.
