New Delhi, Nov 6 : The approximate voter turnout of 64.66 per cent was reported in the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections on Thursday till 8.15 p.m., even as the final data on the voting percentage was being collated from the field, an official said.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar congratulates the electors of Bihar for the historic voter turnout in Phase I of Assembly Elections since 1951. He also thanked the Electors for expressing their complete faith in the Election Commission of India and turning out to vote in such large numbers with fervour and enthusiasm. He also thanked the entire election machinery for working with full transparency and dedication.

The initial data on turnout recorded on Thursday hinted that the first phase of voting in Bihar had bettered the record of the past three Assembly elections. In 2020, the turnout in the first phase was 56.1 per cent; in 2015 it was 55.9 per cent, and in 2010 it was 52.1 per cent.

Till 7 p.m., the turnout stood at 63.25 per cent, improving from 60.13 per cent that was recorded till 5 p.m. on the 121 seats spread across 188 districts, said an election official.

Till 7 p.m., Muzaffarpur district recorded the highest turnout of 70.96 per cent. Samastipur district recorded 70.63 per cent, and Begusarai recorded 68.26 per cent.

Earlier, till 5 p.m., Begusarai district topped with 68.26 per cent voting, followed by Samastipur district with 66.65 per cent and Madhepura with 65.74 per cent.

Begusarai district's Bachhwara seat (AC 142) recorded the highest turnout of 69.67 per cent till 5 p.m., said ECI data.

Over 53.77 per cent of eligible electors had cast their votes by 3 p.m. Patna district recorded the most sluggish polling, with turnout reaching 48.69 per cent till 3 p.m.

Among the seven Assembly constituencies in Begusarai district, Cherai-Bariarpur (AC 141) recorded the highest turnout of 62.55 per cent by 3 p.m. It was followed by Bachhwara (AC 142) with 60.98 per cent voting percentage till 3 p.m. and Teghra (AC 143) with 60.27 per cent turnout.

The turnout in Bhojpur district at 3 p.m. was 50.07 per cent, Buxar 51.69 per cent, Darbhanga 51.75 per cent, Gopalganj 58.17 per cent, Khagaria 54.77 per cent, Lakhisarai 57.39 per cent, Madhepura 55.96 per cent, Munger 52.17 per cent, Muzaffarpur 58.40 per cent, Nalanda 52.32 per cent, Patna 48.69 per cent, Saharsa 55.22 per cent, Samastipur 56.35 per cent, Saran 54.60 per cent, Sheikhpur 49.37 per cent, Siwan 50.93 per cent and Vaishali 53.63 per cent.

The average voter turnout by 1 p.m. was 42.31 per cent across 121 Assembly constituencies spread across 18 districts, said the ECI.

An average voter turnout of 27.65 per cent was recorded till 11 a.m. on Thursday, across 18 districts, according to the Chief Electoral Officer.

A total of 1,314 candidates -- including 1,192 men and 122 women -- are in the fray in this phase. The Election Commission stated that 3.75 crore electors, comprising 1.98 crore men, 1.76 crore women, and 758 third-gender voters, are eligible to vote across 45,341 polling stations, of which 36,733 are in rural and 8,608 in urban areas.

The ECI has designated 320 model booths, 926 women-managed stations, and 107 managed by persons with disabilities. Webcasting facilities have been set up in all polling stations for real-time monitoring.

Over 15 battalions of police and paramilitary forces have been deployed across the 18 districts, with special attention to sensitive and Naxal-affected areas where voting will conclude an hour earlier, at 5 p.m. Mock polling exercises were conducted early in the morning to verify systems before the start of voting.

/IANS