Bihar bypolls: 24.17% voter turnout till 11 am

Patna, Nov 3 A voter turnout of 24.17 per cent was recorded till 11 a.m. in Bihar's Mokama and Gopalganj Assembly constituencies where polling was underway for bypolls on Thursday.

In Mokama, the voters were turning out in large numbers at the polling booths. As per the Election Commission (EC) data, 27.03 per cent voters cast their votes till 11 a.m.

In Gopalganj, the voting percentage was 21.76

The voting started at 7 a.m. and will continue till 6 p.m. The election commission has deployed adequate security forces to conduct peaceful polling. The results will be declared on November 6.

A person, named Sanjay Kumar (48), died due to heart attack in one of the polling booths in Pandarak under the Mokama Assembly constituency.

This are the first bypolls after the formation of the new government in Bihar, and the RJD is sharing the power with JD(U) and five other political parties in the state.

The RJD candidates have a direct fight with the BJP candidates in both the constituencies.

In Mokama, Neelam Devi, who is the wife of Bahubali Anant Singh, is contesting on RJD ticket while the BJP gave the ticket to Sonam Devi, who is the wife of another Bahubali Lalan Singh. Anant Singh has been winning the Mokama seat for the last 17 years. This seat was vacant after he was convicted in an AK 47 and hand grenade case.

RJD candidate Mohan Prasad Gupta is contesting against BJP candidate Kusum Devi. There is the Sadhu Yadav factor also working in Gopalganj as his wife Indira Yadav is contesting as well.