25.6 per cent voting till noon in Bihar

Bihar recorded 25.6 per cent voting in five Lok Sabha seats till noon on Thursday amidst reports of EVM malfunctioning and poll boycott delaying the start of polling in some booths.

Banka recorded the highest turnout at 28 per cent followed by 26.2 per cent in Kishanganj, 25.5 per cent in Purnea, 25 per cent in Katihar and 23 per cent in Bhagalpur, an election official said.

Altogether 86.01 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise to elect 68 candidates in the second phase of polling.

Voting was delayed due to EVM malfunctioning at a polling station at Masuria in Banka town, two polling booths under Kahalgaon assembly segment in Bhagalpur, and another two booths in Purnea.

Poll boycott was reported from a booth under Amarpur assembly segment in Banka, the official said.

People also did not cast vote in the initial hours at two polling stations under the same assembly segment as they were protesting the killing of a farmer at Kaitha village. The process began only after 10.15 am.

Security forces were deployed at two polling stations in Khadiyara locality of Banka parliamentary constituency after supporters of the RJD and the JD(U) reportedly clashed, official sources said.

Prominent among the voters include Union Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey, MP Nishikant Dubey and state minister Ram Narayan.