Patna: The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Bihar concluded peacefully on Monday, with a voter turnout of 55.85 percent across five constituencies. This marks a slight decrease of 1.22 percent from the 57.07 percent turnout in the 2019 elections.
Notably, Muzaffarpur, which has traditionally seen high voter participation, experienced a decline in turnout. This year, 58.10 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots, down from 61 percent in the previous election. Despite this decrease, Muzaffarpur still recorded the highest turnout among the five constituencies.
Conversely, Madhubani saw the lowest voter turnout, with only 52.20 percent of voters participating, a drop from 53.72 percent in 2019. Meanwhile, Hajipur saw an increase in voter turnout, rising from 55.22 percent in 2019 to 55.85 percent this year.
In Saran, 54.50 percent of voters cast their ballots, compared to 56.48 percent in the previous election. This year’s election in Saran features a high-profile contest between former Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a two-time winner, and Dr. Rohini Acharya, daughter of RJD President Lalu Prasad. In Hajipur, Chirag Paswan, son of the late Ram Vilas Paswan, is vying to uphold his family’s political legacy against RJD’s Shivchandra Ram.
Muzaffarpur presents a unique scenario where the main contenders have switched parties since the last election. Ajay Nishad, who previously won twice under the BJP banner, is now running for Congress, while VIP’s Rajbhushan Nishad, his previous opponent, is now the BJP candidate.
In Sitamarhi, the election marks the debut of Devesh Chandra Thakur, Chairman of the Legislative Council, who is running against former MP Arjun Rai of the RJD.
The elections were conducted under tight security, ensuring a smooth voting process across all constituencies.
