"Suffering consequences of Bihar they created": VIP's Mukesh Sahani on Vijay Sinha convoy attack

Patna (Bihar) [India], November 7 (ANI): Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani on Thursday took a dig at Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha after the latter's convoy was attacked, saying that it was a consequence of the kind of state the ruling party has created.
"They are in power in the country. They're in power in the state, so they should investigate. They're suffering the consequences of the kind of Bihar they've created. People are driving them out, which means that a Mahagathbandhan government is being formed," Sahani told reporters here.
Sahani, the Mahagathbandhan's Deputy Chief Ministerial candidate, further stated, "There is a wave of change in Bihar. There is bumper voting happening. I hope that there will be a change in Bihar. A Mahagathbandhan government will be formed."
As the first phase of the Bihar assembly elections concluded today, the state recorded the highest voter turnout ever, at 64.66 per cent, with voting on 121 seats.
A total of 3.75 crore voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in the first phase of polls, and the polling covered 18 districts of the state.
"The first phase of the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections concluded peacefully in a festive mood today with the highest ever voter turnout of 64.66% in the history of Bihar," the Election Commission said in a press release.
The poll panel said that the voter turnout figures are as of 8.15 pm today. With 1,570 Presiding Officers yet to update the figures on ECINet, the polling percentage could go further up.
Bihar Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vinod Gunjyal said that 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 while addressing a press conference.
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)