Patna: BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday slammed the RJD for alleging that power supply was deliberately disconnected at several polling booths during the ongoing Bihar Assembly elections. Calling the accusation “baseless and misleading,” Prasad also questioned whether the RJD had already accepted defeat.
Speaking to IANS, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “What has happened to the RJD? Have they already accepted defeat? Now they are shouting that voting was slowed down, electricity was cut, and the Election Commission acted against them. There is no proof, no evidence — yet they have started crying foul. They are leaving the field even before voting is completed, which is wrong.”
He further added, “It is clear that they are losing. But before losing, why are they quitting the contest? That is wrong. Voters are coming out to cast their votes enthusiastically, so no one will believe such baseless claims. Those who were claiming they would form the government have already accepted defeat. What does this mean? Their allegations are baseless and misleading.”
The first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections began with over 3.75 crore voters set to cast their ballots in 121 of the state’s 243 constituencies. Polling started at 7 a.m. and continued until 5 p.m. across 45,341 polling stations. As per Bihar’s Chief Electoral Officer, voter turnout stood at 53.77 per cent at 3 p.m., with Begusarai district recording the highest turnout at 59.82 per cent.
This initial phase holds particular importance for the Opposition Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance), which had secured 63 of these 121 seats in the 2020 polls. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) — comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) — had won 55 seats in the same constituencies.
The phase is also crucial for smaller allies on both sides. The Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) [CPI(ML)], which achieved one of the best strike rates in the 2020 elections, is contesting 20 seats overall, 10 of which are going to the polls in this round. The CPI(ML) currently holds six of these seats, making this phase vital to maintaining its electoral momentum.
Within the NDA, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) [LJP(RV)], led by Chirag Paswan, is contesting 29 seats across Bihar — 10 of them in this first phase.
Interestingly, the NDA currently holds only one of these 10 seats. The LJP(RV)’s share in seat distribution had earlier sparked tension within the alliance, particularly with the JD(U), which believed the allocation was disproportionate to the LJP(RV)’s current Assembly strength.
(IANS)
