9.2 per cent voter turnout recorded till 9 am in Bihar

About 9.2 per cent of the over 86 lakh electorate in Odisha exercised their franchise in the first two hours of polling in Bihar on Thursday, with reports of EVM malfunctioning and poll boycott in some booths.

Altogether 86.01 lakh persons are eligible to vote to decide the fate of 68 candidates in the second phase of polling in five Lok Sabha seats of Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnea, Banka and Bhagalpur.

"9.19 per cent of voting was recorded in the first two hours of polling in five Lok Sabha seats. Polling has been peaceful so far," an election official said.

Kishanganj and Banka recorded the highest turnout at 10.5 per cent each in the first two hours, followed by Bhagalpur at 10 per cent, Katihar at 8 per cent and Purnea at 7 per cent, the CEO office said.

Voting was hampered for a brief period at several polling stations at Masuria in Banka town, Kahalgaon assembly segment in Bhagalpur and Purnea, the official said.

Poll boycott was reported from a polling station in Amarpur assembly segment in Banka, he said.

Prominent candidates in the fray are Uday Singh, Tariq Anwar, Bulo Mandal, Jai Prakasj Narayan Yadav and independent candidate Putul Kumari in Banka.