52.24% turnout till 5 pm in Phase I of Bihar assembly elections: CEC

The voter turnout in the phase one of Bihar assembly polls was 52.24 per cent till 5 pm, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said on Wednesday.

In a break from the past, the CEC attended the poll panel briefing here and made opening remarks.

In the 2015 assembly polls, the turnout in the phase one was 54.94 per cent, he said. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the corresponding turnout was 53.54 per cent, he said.

A total of 71 assembly constituencies of Bihar went for polls on Wednesday in the first phase of three-phase elections amid tight security and with COVID-19 guidelines in place.

The polling began at 7 am and ended at 6 pm.

Of the nearly 2.15 crore electors eligible to exercise the franchise, 1.12 crore are male, 1.01 crore female and 599 are categorised as third gender, according to data provided by the Election Commission.