Voting began on Thursday morning for 121 constituencies in the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, with over 3.75 crore voters set to decide the fate of 1,314 candidates across the state. Polling commenced at 7 am amid tight security arrangements and will continue till 5 pm, officials said.

Top leaders cast votes early

Several senior politicians, including Tejashwi Yadav, Union minister Giriraj Singh, and Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha, were among the early voters.

Tejashwi cast his ballot at Patna’s Veterinary College, accompanied by his father and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad. Giriraj Singh voted in Lakhisarai, while Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’ and state minister Nitin Nabin also exercised their franchise in Patna.

RJD’s Khesari Lal Yadav voted in Ekma, Saran district, while BJP leader Bikhu Bhai Dalsania cast his vote early in the day. In a lighter moment, a voter in Vaishali arrived at the polling station on a buffalo, urging others to participate.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and several top political figures urged citizens to turn out in large numbers to participate in what they described as the “festival of democracy.”