Bihar records 60% turnout in phase 3

Patna, April 23 (IANS) Around 60 per cent voting was recorded till 6 p.m. on Tuesday for the five Lok Sabha seats in Bihar that went to the polls in the third phase of polling on Tuesday amid few incidents of clashes and EVM glitches, officials said. As per the official figures received, 62.80 per cent turnout was recorded at Supaul, followed by Araria (62.34 per cent), Madhepura (59.12 per cent), Khagaria (58.83 per cent) and Jhanjgarpur (56.82 per cent). According to officials at the state Chief Electoral Office here, voting was largely peaceful barring a few incidents of clashes between the supporters of rival political parties. In Araria, voting was stopped at three polling booths after the police resorted to lathi charge to disperse a mob, injuring four women voters in the process. Polling resumed later. Meanwhile, technical glitches in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) reportedly delayed polling in Khagaria, Madhepura and Araria. In the third phase of polling, the prominent candidates in the fray are Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) Sharad Yadav (Madhepura) and Sarfaraz Alam (Araria), Congress' Ranjeet Ranjan (Supaul) and Lok Janshakti Party's (LJP) Mahboob Ali Qaiser (Khagaria).
--IANS ik/arm