Patna | Bihar on Tuesday witnessed a record-breaking turnout of nearly 69 per cent in the second and final phase of polling, wrapping up a nearly month-long exercise that saw the ruling NDA defend its "sushasan" pitch against the opposition's onslaught, promising "change".
The results, which will be declared on November 14, will decide whether Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) president and the longest serving Chief Minister, secures yet another tenure or his former deputy Tejashwi Yadav, who has likened the 20-year-old regime to a "rickety old car" (khataara), takes the wheel.
Briefing reporters, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vinod Singh Gunjiyal said the state recorded 68.79 per cent voter turnout, provisionally, in the second and final phase of the assembly polls.
In both phases, the state registered a voter turnout of 66.90 per cent, provisionally, which is 9.6 percentage points more than the last assembly polls, the CEO added.
In the 2020 assembly polls, the state recorded a voter turnout of 57.29 per cent.
Polling began at a brisk pace, with figures made available by the Election Commission constantly surpassing the same for the corresponding period on November 6, when 121 seats had witnessed, in the first phase, the "highest ever turnout" of 65.09 per cent by the end of the day.
While Yadav and his allies in the INDIA bloc claim that the high turnout was indicative of a very strong "anti-incumbency" sentiment, NDA leaders like Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the BJP's in charge for the Bihar elections, have been quick to counter that heavy polling does not necessarily spell change, citing past instances of incumbents retaining power.
Notably, all the districts that have witnessed the highest poll percentage, well in excess of 70 per cent, in the first as well as second phases, are situated north of the Ganges, an area which is densely populated and where the NDA has traditionally performed well.
However, the top three districts, Kishanganj, Katihar, and Purnea, have a high concentration of Muslims and, unsurprisingly, had all voted for the INDIA bloc in the last polls.
Amid the tug of war between the NDA and the opposition bloc, INDIA, Prashant Kishor, the former political strategist, hopes that his one-year-old Jan Suraaj Party will make an impact, with its promise of an "alternative" that promises education and jobs and an end to "distress migration".
Although Kumar, who is a member of the state legislative council, is not himself contesting the polls, the BJP-led NDA is banking on 'good governance' during the tenure of the JD(U) president to tackle the anti-incumbency factor.
The second phase, in which eight ministers of his cabinet are in the fray, involves high stakes for the ruling NDA, as also the opposition INDIA bloc, which pins its hopes on the incumbency factor, as well as the high concentration of Muslims in many of the poll-bound districts.
The second phase is of particular significance for the Congress, a spent force which is, nonetheless, the second-largest constituent of the INDIA bloc in Bihar. Of the 19 seats it had won in the 2020 assembly polls, 12 went to polls in the current phase. Its sitting MLAs include state president Rajesh Kumar Ram (Kutumba) and Shakeel Ahmed Khan (Kadwa).
In the first phase, on November 6, a "record" 65.09 per cent of 3.75 crore electors, across 121 constituencies, had cast their vote, which both rival groups claim to be to their advantage.
However, Kishor, the proverbial 'X factor' in the elections, believes that the spike in voting percentage is because people of the state, who had been in search of an "alternative", have found one in his barely a year-old outfit.
Voting began for 122 constituencies in Bihar in the second and final phase of the high-stakes assembly polls amid tight security arrangements.
In this phase, the electoral fate of 1,302 candidates, including several ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, will be sealed.
Ahead of the voting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Kumar urged electors to exercise their franchise in the final phase of polling and set a new voting record.
"Today 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 record. I especially urge my young friends from the state, who are voting for the first time, to not only cast their votes themselves but also inspire others to do so," the PM said on X.
Kumar said voting is "not only our right, but also a responsibility".
"I appeal to voters to exercise their right to vote in the second phase of the Bihar assembly elections," he said in a social media post.
The districts where voting took place in the final phase include West and East Champaran, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Supaul, Araria, and Kishanganj, all sharing borders with Nepal.
Most of these districts fall in the Seemanchal region, which has a high concentration of Muslim population, making it a high-stakes battle for both the INDIA bloc, which banks on the support of the minority community, as well as the ruling NDA, which alleges that the opposition is protecting infiltrators.
