Bihar records highest-ever voter turnout of 67.14 per cent in second phase

Bihar registered its highestever voter turnout of 6714 per cent provisional on Tuesday at the close of polling in the second and final phase of the highstakes assembly elections widely viewed as a referendum on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar the statersquos longestserving leader news agency PTI reportedPolling was held across 122 constituencies with a total of 370 crore voters surpassing the previous record of 6509 per cent turnout recorded in the first phase on November 6 Election officials said the final figure could rise further as voters were still queued up at several polling booths when voting officially endedKishanganj the lone Muslimmajority district in Bihar reported the highest polling percentage at 7626 per cent followed by Katihar 7523 per cent Purnea 7379 per cent Supaul 7069 per cent and Araria 6779 per cent reported PTIMost of these districts are located along the Nepal border in the statersquos floodprone KosiSeemanchal region which has a significant minority populationHigh voter participation was also seen in South Bihar including Jamui 6781 per cent Gaya 6750 per cent and Kaimur 6722 per cent while Nawada recorded the lowest turnout at 5731 per cent making it the only district failing to cross the 60 per cent mark till 5 pm PTI reportedAlthough Chief Minister Nitish Kumar a member of the legislative council is not contesting himself the Bharatiya Janata Party BJPled National Democratic Alliance NDA is relying heavily on his image of ldquogood governancerdquo to counter antiincumbency The second phase features eight ministers from his cabinet making it a crucial test for the ruling alliance as well as the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance INDIA bloc which is banking on voter fatigue with the government and the support of Muslim voters in the Seemanchal beltThe phase is particularly significant for the Congress the secondlargest constituent of the INDIA bloc in Bihar Of the 19 seats it won in the 2020 assembly elections 12 went to polls in this round Among its key candidates are state party president Rajesh Kumar Ram Kutumba and sitting legislator Shakeel Ahmed Khan KadwaIn all 1302 candidates including several ministers in the Nitish Kumar Government were in the fray for the second phase of Bihar Election 2025Voting began at 7 am under tight security and continued till 5 pmPrime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar both urged citizens to turn out in large numbers ahead of pollingldquoToday marks the second and final phase of voting in the Bihar assembly elections I urge all voters to participate enthusiastically and set a new voting recordrdquo the Prime Minister posted on X encouraging firsttime voters to inspire others as wellThe Chief Minister echoing a similar sentiment said voting was ldquonot only our right but also a responsibilityrdquoPolling was conducted in West and East Champaran Sitamarhi Madhubani Supaul Araria and Kishanganj districts most of which share borders with Nepal These areas have a high concentration of Muslim voters making them key battlegrounds for both alliances mdash the INDIA bloc which counts on minority support and the NDA which has accused the Opposition of shielding infiltratorsDeputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha said voters were ldquoblessing the doubleengine governmentrsquos Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas mantra by pressing the vote buttonrdquoMeanwhile Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor seen as the Xfactor in Bihar Election 2025 claimed that the surge in voter turnout reflected the peoplersquos growing search for an ldquoalternativerdquo mdash which he said they have found in his yearold political outfitWith PTI inputs