Mere 43.54% turnout in Patna Sahib

Jitendra K Shrivastava

Tribune News Service

Patna, May 19

Bihar recorded a turnout of 57.28 per cent, slightly higher than in the previous Lok Sabha elections (56.28%). In the final phase, polling was held for eight constituencies, including the high-profile Patna Sahib seat where actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha of the Mahagathbandhan is pitted against Union Minister and NDA candidate Ravi Shankar Prasad. Patna Sahib recorded the lowest turnout at 43.54 per cent.

Chief electoral officer HR Srinivasa said: “The total turnout in the eight Lok Sabha constituencies— Nalanda, Patna Sahib, Patliputra, Arrah, Buxor, Sasaram (SC), Karakat and Jehanabad — has been recorded at 53.85 per cent, which was 2.06 per cent higher than in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The highest turnout of 57.74per cent was in the Sasaram (reserved) constituency, while Patna Sahib saw the lowest polling at just 43.54%. Except for a few sporadic incidents, the elections went off peacefully”.

In some constituencies, people reportedly boycotted the polls. Their slogan was, “No road, no vote”. 

There was tension between two castes in the Buxor constituency.

As many as 157 candidates, including four Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ashwani Kumar Chaubey, Ram Kripal Yadav, and RK Singh, were in the fray in the last phase. The byelection for the Nawada Assembly seat was peaceful too. It saw a turnout of 52 per cent.