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Bihar Assembly election 2020: Voting for second phase begins

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Nov 03, 2020, 08:46 AM IST
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Photograph:(IANS)

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The voting started at 7 am IST and the timings have been extended for an hour to conclude at 6 pm, giving the last 60 minutes to coronavirus patients and people who were not allowed to vote earlier due to Covid-19 symptoms

Polling began of the second phase of assembly election in the eastern Indian state of Bihar on Tuesday where the fate of 94 seats will be decided. 

The voting started at 7 am IST and the timings have been extended for an hour to conclude at 6 pm, giving the last 60 minutes to coronavirus patients and people who were not allowed to vote earlier due to Covid-19 symptoms. 

The tightly-contested election is India's first amid the pandemic and held in three phases with the first phase summed up on October 27 the final phase scheduled to vote on November 7. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged voters on Tuesday to vote in large numbers and follow safety measures while voting to avoid contracting the deadly virus. 

"Make this festival of democracy successful by voting in large numbers. During the exercise, apart from maintaining social distancing, also wear a mask," he tweeted. 

Grand alliance's (Mahagathbandhan) chief ministerial face and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav asked voters to vote for a developed Bihar

"A change is necessary for building a new Bihar in a new era," the RJD leader tweeted. 

Several key players will be participating in this phase, which includes Tejashwi himself, his brother Tej Pratap Yadav, four other state ministers and Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha's son Luv Sinha, among others. 

The voter turnout was more than 55 per cent in the first phase, which is marginally better than the figures in 2015 despite the pandemic. 

The results of the election will be announced on November 10.