New Delhi, Nov 6 (NationPress) The voter turnout in the first phase of Bihar's Assembly elections reached an impressive 64.66 percent by 8:15 p.m. on Thursday, as officials continued to gather final voting data from various locations.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar applauded the citizens of Bihar for this remarkable turnout, marking it as the highest since 1951. He expressed gratitude towards the electorate for their trust in the Election Commission of India and for participating in the electoral process with such enthusiasm. Kumar also praised the election officials for their unwavering commitment and transparency.

Preliminary turnout figures indicated that this phase surpassed the turnout rates of the previous three elections. In 2020, the turnout was 56.1 percent, in 2015 it was 55.9 percent, and in 2010 it was 52.1 percent.

As of 7 p.m., the turnout was recorded at 63.25 percent, an increase from 60.13 percent observed by 5 p.m. across the 121 seats in 188 districts, according to an election official.

Muzaffarpur district achieved the highest turnout with 70.96 percent, followed closely by Samastipur at 70.63 percent and Begusarai at 68.26 percent.

Earlier, by 5 p.m., Begusarai led with 68.26 percent, followed by Samastipur at 66.65 percent and Madhepura at 65.74 percent.

In Begusarai, the Bachhwara seat (AC 142) reported a turnout of 69.67 percent by 5 p.m., according to ECI data.

By 3 p.m., over 53.77 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballots. Patna district, however, lagged with a turnout of only 48.69 percent at that time.

Among the seven constituencies in Begusarai, Cherai-Bariarpur (AC 141) had the highest turnout at 62.55 percent by 3 p.m., followed by Bachhwara (AC 142) with 60.98 percent.

Turnout statistics in other districts by 3 p.m. included Bhojpur at 50.07 percent, Buxar at 51.69 percent, and Gopalganj at 58.17 percent.

The overall average turnout by 1 p.m. was 42.31 percent across 121 constituencies in 18 districts, according to the ECI.

Before noon, an average turnout of 27.65 percent was recorded across the same 18 districts, as per the Chief Electoral Officer.

A total of 1,314 candidates, including 1,192 men and 122 women, are contesting in this phase. The Election Commission noted that 3.75 crore eligible voters, consisting of 1.98 crore men, 1.76 crore women, and 758 third-gender voters, are registered to vote across 45,341 polling stations, with 36,733 in rural areas and 8,608 in urban regions.

The ECI has set up 320 model booths, 926 women-managed stations, and 107 accessible booths for persons with disabilities. Additionally, webcasting facilities have been established at all polling stations for real-time monitoring.

Over 15 battalions of police and paramilitary forces have been deployed across 18 districts, focusing on sensitive and Naxal-affected areas, where voting will conclude an hour earlier, at 5 p.m. Mock polling was conducted early in the morning to ensure system integrity before voting commenced.