Samastipur LS seat records 45 per cent voting;49.26 pc polling

A total of 45 per cent voters' turnout was recorded in Samastipur Lok Sabha constituency, while 49.26 per cent polling was registered in the bypolls on five assembly constituencies in Bihar, which passed off peacefully on Monday.

Out of 32,23,169 voters, 49.26 per cent people exercised their franchise on 3258 polling stations in five assembly constituencies of Kishanganj, Simri Bakhtiarpur, Nathnagar, Belhar and Daraundha in the by-elections in the state with a total of 51, including 6 women candidates, trying their luck in the fray.

"Polling passed off peacefully in all the five assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha constituency for which bypolls took place today," Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), H R Srinivasa told reporters here.

While the by-poll in Samastipur has been necessitated by the death of sitting LJP MP Ramchandra Paswan, younger brother of the party's founding president Ramvilas Paswan, the five assembly segments have fallen vacant upon the respective MLAs getting elected to the Lok Sabha.

Kishanganj witnessed the highest voters' turnout of 59.18 per cent followed by 53.49 per cent in Belhar, 52.50 in Simri Bakhtiarpur, 43.20 in Nathnagar while Daraundha recorded lowest electoral participation of 42.20 per cent at the end of voting this evening, he said.

Samastipur lok sabha constituency saw 45 per cent voters turnout against the 60.63 voting percentage recorded during the 2019 general elections on the seat, said Srinivasa, who was accompanied by Additional Director General of Police (ADG) (Headquarters) Jitendra Kumar.

Similarly, five assembly constituencies, which polled 49.26 per cent during the day, witnessed 9.73 per cent lower turnout when compared to 58.99 voters participation in these constituencies during the general elections, the CEO said.

Asked about the reason for the drop in the turnout both in the Lok Sabha and the assembly seats, Srinivasa said "it has been witnessed that people don't show much interest during bypolls in comparison to general elections. This has happened despite commission's best efforts to increase turnout. There is no any other reason."