PATNA, 20 November 2005 — An estimated 45 percent voters exercised their franchise in the fourth and final phase of assembly elections in Bihar yesterday. Polling was conducted amid tight security in 41 of the 243 constituencies in the state to decide the fortunes of 384 candidates. The main contenders are the right-wing National Democratic Alliance taking on the centrist Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal alliance, the Secular Democratic Front. In February this year, the RJD won nine out of the 41 seats, while its allies, Congress, the NCP and the CPI-M won none.
NDA partners JD(U) and BJP had bagged 14 and nine seats respectively, while LJP, CPI-ML and Bahujan Samaj Party got two each and independent candidates three.
State NDA convener Nand Kishore Yadav of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who is seeking a fourth straight term from the Patna East seat, is one of the main contenders. The other major contestants include ministers in the erstwhile Rabri Devi government — Avadh Bihari Chaudhary (Siwan), Azazul Haq (Ziradei), Udit Rai (Chapra), Chandrika Rai (Parsa) and Vijay Shanker Dubey (Raghunathpur).
The Nalanda district recorded 35 to 40 percent polling, while Siwan, the parliamentary constituency of jailed Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Mohammed Shahabuddin recorded a low voter turnout of around 25 percent.
Railway Minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi and their three daughters cast their votes at a polling station on Veterinary College campus in Patna (West) assembly constituency here.
Despite exit polls predicting a hung assembly, the RJD chief was confident of victory. “I am confident that the RJD will return to power with a majority,” said Lalu. He said there was an undercurrent in favor of his party that would help it get absolute majority.
NDA chief ministerial candidate Nitish Kumar on the other hand claimed that the JD (U)-BJP combine would get a clear majority and form the next government in the state.
“There has been a positive vote this time and people, who want change, have high expectations from the NDA that it will make the state crime-free and bring the state back on the path of development”, Nitish told Arab News outside a polling station in Bakhtiarpur, 50 km from here.
In the morning, some young men burst crackers at a polling station in the Danapur assembly constituency trying to scare voters off, but polling remained unaffected, official sources said. Thirty-four people were arrested in connection with the incident.
