Voting begins for 5 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar

Large number of women were seen queued up outside polling booths in Bihar as voting for five Lok Sabha seats began on Tuesday in the third phase of the seven-phased process in the state.

Technical glitches in EVMs though reportedly delayed the balloting process in Khagaria, Madhepuea and Araria, which will see over 88 lakh voters deciding the fate of 82 candidates, along with Supaul and Jhanjharpur -- all of which are in Koshi and Seemanchal region.

Heavy security arrangements have been made at the polling booths. Three helicopters have been requisitioned to provide air cover as well.

"In the first hour, women in particular came out in large numbers. It has been a slow start but polling will pick up in the next three-four hours," an official said.

Prominent candidates in the fray are Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) Sharad Yadav from Madhepura seat, who is pitted against Pappu Yadav; Congress' Ranjeet Ranjan from Supaul, while the main contestant from Araria is RJD's Sarfaraz Alam; and LJP's Mahboob Ali Qaiser is from Khagaria seat, whose main contestant is VIP chief Mukesh Shahni.

So far voting has been peaceful with no reports of violence.

--IANS

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