"Change is coming...": Prashant Kishor after record voter turnout in first phase of Bihar polls

Gaya Ji (Bihar) [India], November 6 (ANI): Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor on Thursday said the high voter turnout in the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections indicates that "change is coming to Bihar".
Speaking to ANI, Kishor said, "The highest polling in the last 30 years indicates that change is coming to Bihar. A new system is going to be established on the 14th (November)."
Bihar Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vinod Gunjyal on Thursday stated that the first phase of the assembly elections was concluded peacefully, with the state witnessing a voter turnout of approximately 64.46 per cent.
The voter turnout in the 2025 assembly elections remains the highest since the 2000 assembly elections, according to Election Commission data. The voting percentage in 2000 was 62.57 per cent.
Of the 45,341 polling booths in Bihar, the voter turnout of 64.46 per cent is based on data from 41,943 booths. The Bihar CEO said that the final data will be available in due course.
Addressing a press conference, Gunjyal said that 3.75 crore were eligible to cast votes in the first phase. Of them, 1.98 crore were men and 1.76 crore were women voters. He said that the women voters enthusiastically exercised their right to vote.
Over two lakh senior citizens aged 85 and above voted in the first phase of the assembly polls. The CEO informed that 8,608 polling booths were set up in cities, while 36,733 booths were in rural areas. Of the 1,314 candidates contesting the assembly polls, 1192 were men, while 122 were women.
Nearly 47,263 ballot units were used in the first phase of assembly polls, followed by 45,341 control units and VVPAT machines each. The Bihar CEO stated that 165 ballot units, followed by 169 control units, and 480 VVPATs were replaced during the polling process.
Gunjyal further stated that 1.21 per cent of EVMs were replaced in the first phase, as compared to 1.87 per cent of EVMs replaced during the 2020 assembly elections.
"The first phase of voting for the Bihar Assembly elections has been successfully completed. Voting is still ongoing in some places, and we're updating data. The current voter turnout is 64.46 per cent. The participation of women voters was very good. During the voting, 165 ballot units, 169 control units, and 480 VVPATs were replaced. This time, we had to replace 1.21 per cent of the ballot units in the first phase, while in the 2020 Assembly elections, 1.87 per cent of the EVMs were replaced. This means that we needed to replace fewer EVMs this time," Gunjyal said.
The CEO further stated that the relevant authorities managed to resolve all complaints registered on polling day. "By the end of voting, 143 complaints were received. All were resolved on time. Furthermore, all complaints received directly by phone were resolved on time. Information about boycotts was also received at some polling stations, including polling station number 56 in the Brahmapur assembly constituency of Buxar district, polling stations number 165 and 166 in the Fatuha assembly constituency, and polling stations number 1, 2, and 5 in Suryagarha, near Lakhisarai," CEO Gunjyal said.
"No untoward incidents have been reported in the first phase of voting that concluded today. Voting was conducted peacefully and smoothly," he added.
The remaining 122 constituencies will vote in the second phase on November 11. The counting of votes will happen on November 14. (ANI)