SPECULATIONS AND PREDICTIONS ON BIHAR ASSEMBLY POLLS  Will Nitish Return, or will the State Assembly be ‘hung’? That’s the question. Polling is  over in Bihar  and the predictions have started. State BJP president CP Thakur  says the NDA will win about 170 of the total 243 seats in the Bihar assembly elections and form the government once again under Nitish Kumar. “The increase in the polling percentage reflected the people’s acknowledgment of the developmental work under the NDA during the past five years,” he told reporters in Patna. The people, Thakur said,... 

Fifty two percent voting in overall Assembly Polls   Over 52 per cent polling has been reported in the overall assembly elections in Bihar for 243 seats. Briefing media, the Chief Election Commissioner S. Y. Qureshi said that 52.43 votes were polled in all the six phases. He said that in today’s sixth and final phase nearly 51 per cent votes were polled.   Qureshi said that elections have been by and large very peaceful. He said that the incidents of violence in these elections were much less than in the previous elections. He said that only 25 incidents were reported in all the... 

POLL ROUNDUP        In Bihar, campaigning has reached  to a new high for the sixth and final phase of elections in 26 Assembly constituencies on Saturday with political parties fielding  their star campaigners  BOY DIES IN ACCIDENT AT LALU RALLY  A 12-year-old boy died when a makeshift platform collapsed on him as a crowd gathered to wave at RJD chief Lalu Prasad who took off in a helicopter after addressing an election meeting at Kochas in Bihar’s Rohtas district on Wednesday.  DGP Neelmani said that soon after Lalu Prasad concluded his speech and boarded the helicopter,... 

Preparations for Vote counting in Gopalganj As the final phases of the Great battle for Bihar draw to a close, officuals are concentrating on ensuring the smooth vote-enumeration and declaration of results. Deputy Electoral Officer Naushad Alam has directed that the counting of votes for all six assembly constituencies of the Gopalganj district shall take place from 8 AM on November 24. The psotal votes shall be counted first.  The district election officer and his team are putting the final touch to the preparations, according to an official release. DEO Naushad Alam has directed that... 

By 1 pm : Over 40 percent votes, no major incidents Over 40 per cent of the voters had cast their votes by 1 pm  in the 35 constituencies in Bihar where polling is taking place amidst tight security, reports Prasar Bharati. This is the fifth and penultimate phase of voting in the elections to the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly. In all, 81.26 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the 35 constituencies that are located in the eight districts of Sheikhpura, Nalanda, Patna, Bhojpur, Arwal, Jehanabad, Gaya and Nawada. Polling is going on peacefully and no major incident... 

Polling hours modified in 4 constituencies The Election Commission has rescheduled polling hours in four Bihar Assembly elections in the constituencies of Hilsa, Belganj, Wazirganj and Atri in response to the threats from naxal rebels, official sources said. “The Commission has accepted the recommendation of chief electoral officer (CEO) in Bihar for rescheduling the polling hour in these constituencies because of the naxal threat,” the sources said. Polling for Hilsa, Belaganj and Wazirganj Assembly constituencies would now be held between 7 am and 4 pm, while in the constituency of... 

Action packed Battle for Bihar Patna: Maoists triggered a land mine blast to scare away voters even as 10 million electorate cast ballots in Bihar’s fourth phase polling for 42 Assembly constituencies and the by-poll for Banka Lok Sabha seat on Monday. Director General of Police Neelmani said the extremists had detonated the land mine near a bridge on the Chakai-Jamui main road in Betia jungle and lobbed four powerful bombs near booth No.56 and 57 at Danapur, but there had been no report of casualty in any of the incidents.  The ultras made quick retreat immediately after the security... 

Round up Bihar’s top cop has voting hassles Director general of police (police training) Abhyanand today faced embarrassment when he was denied permission to vote as his name did not figure on the voter’s list, media sources reported. “I really felt embarrassed,” Abhyanand told reporters after being disallowed to cast his vote at a booth at Patel Nagar under Digha assembly constituency in Patna. Abhyanand said when he along with his family members with EPICs went to the booth, they discovered that their names had been deleted from the voter’s list. “It... 

Bihar Congress leader says ‘conspiracy’  Begusarai: The Congress was in for a rude shock as hotel rooms of two congress leaders, Bihar youth congress president Lalan Kumar and Sagar Raika were raided in Begusarai on Thursday, a media channel reported. The two leaders have been detained and Rs 6.40 lakh were found from their respective hotel rooms. The Congress leaders have claimed that it was the party money and was meant to be spent for party elections. The Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to address a rally in Begusarai. Congress Secretary Sagar Raika and the party’s... 

54 percent voters, largely peaceful poll PATNA: Over one crore electors have probably decided the fate of six state ministers and the leader of the opposition  in the third phase of the Bihar poll that ended today. State Chief Electoral Officer Sudhir Kumar Rakesh said 58 per cent polling was recorded in West Champaran, 57 per cent in East Champaran, 51 per cent in Gopalgunj, 52 per cent in Siwan, 50 per cent in Saran and 54 per cent in Vaishali districts. Except for a few stray incidents, and the boycott of four polling booths, polling passed off peacefully in 48 constituencies figuring...