Bihar goes to polls in the first of the assembly elections with voting underway in 71 out of the total 243 seats. The incumbent chief minister, Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal-United, is seeking a fifth term in office, while his challenger is Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son, Tejashwi Yadav, of the Rashtriya Janata Dal. Also making his presence felt in this year’s election is Lok Janshakti Party’s Chirag Paswan, whose party is contesting alone without an alliance with the NDA.
While the JDU and the BJP have forged an electoral alliance, the RJD has joined hands with the Congress once again. Tejashwi is being projected as the future chief minister of the state in the event that the grand alliance secures a majority in the assembly.
This year’s election campaign has seen personal jibes being made by Nitish Kumar against his main rival. Facing anti-incumbency, Kumar was seen repeatedly losing his temper during his campaign rallies that also saw angry protesters shouting slogans against him.
In one rally, Kumar had attacked Lalu Yadav for having nine children as he asked voters to choose their ideal carefully. Many believed that this smacked of his nervousness ahead of the polls.
Among those seats going to polls today, the RJD is contesting on 42, the JDU has fielded candidates on 41 seats, the BJP on 29, the Congress on 21 and the LJP of Chirag Paswan is contesting 41 seats.
LIVE UPDATES on this story and other big developments of the day will appear below:
16:11 PM: Australian Prime Minister #ScottMorrison has urged to develop alternatives to large-scale #lockdown’s to deal with future #coronavirus outbreaks in the country. (IANS)
17:44 PM: Delhi University Vice Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi placed under suspension on President’s orders: Ministry of Education officials. (PTI)
16:53 PM: Samajwadi Party candidate Bansilal Jatav from Ambah seat in Morena district has joined BJP ahead of November 3 bypolls to 28 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh, says BJP leader. (PTI)
16:14 PM: A Delhi court acquits Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a defamation case filed by BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri. Bidhuri had alleged that CM made a defamatory statement by terming him a criminal in an interview to a news channel on July 2017. (ANI)
16:09 PM: Former #Congress President #RahulGandhi said on Wednesday that effigies of PM #NarendraModi were burnt in Punjab on #Dussehra, and not that of ‘Ravan’. He said that burning the effigy of the Prime Minister was sad, but the youth are angry with him. (IANS)
15:22 PM: A 16-year-old girl in #Etah district of #UttarPradesh allegedly ended her life by jumping from an under-construction building. (IANS)
14:46 PM: Cong knows how to run country, how to stand with farmers, give employment, but we don’t know how to lie: Rahul says attacking PM, BJP. (PTI)
14:01 PM: Returning Officer to file an FIR against Bihar Minister and BJP leader Prem Kumar for violation of the model code of conduct by wearing a mask with his party’s symbol at polling booth. (ANI)
Returning Officer to file an FIR against Bihar Minister and BJP leader Prem Kumar for violation of the model code of conduct by wearing a mask with his party's symbol at polling booth. https://t.co/Avxy37SJic
— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020
13:21 PM: Supreme Court dismisses the challenge made by Delhi Police against the Delhi High Court order granting bail to student activist Devangana Kalita in a case related to #DelhiRiots2020. (LiveLaw)
12.58 PM: Ministry Of Electronic, NIC And NeGD Have No Information About Who And How Created Arogya Sethu App: CIC Summons CPIOs (LiveLaw)
12:42 PM: Man who fled after stabbing TV actress Malvi Malhotra in Mumbai traced. He is yet to be arrested as he is hospitalised: Police. (PTI)
12:26 PM: Police in #AndhraPradesh rescued a doctor on Wednesday, who had been kidnapped by five burka-clad persons from his hospital in #Hyderabad. (IANS)
11:52 AM: Bihar records 18.31% turnout till 11 AM in 1st phase of assembly polls, says Election Commission in its provisional data. (PTI)
10:23 AM: Who is responsible for the firing & lathicharge incident in Munger? Chief Minister is now playing the role of General Dyer who ordered the Jallianwalah massacre. I am sure CM is responsible for the incident, an investigation should be done: Chirag Paswan, LJP. (ANI)
10:39 AM: Single-day rise of 43,893 new infections, 508 fatalities push India’s COVID-19 caseload to 79,90,322, death toll to 1,20,010: Health ministry. (PTI)
10:04 AM: BJP president J P Nadda appeals to Bihar voters to participate in ‘grand festival of democracy’ while adhering to COVID-19 guidelines. (PTI)
बिहार विधानसभा चुनावों के लिए आज पहले चरण का मतदान हो रहा है।
आप का मत ही लोकतंत्र में आपकी सबसे सबसे बड़ी ताक़त है। मेरा सभी मतदाताओं से अनुरोध है कि कोविड सम्बन्धी सावधानियों का ध्यान रखते हुए लोकतंत्र के इस महापर्व में जरूर हिस्सा लें।पहले मतदान, फिर जलपान!
— Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) October 28, 2020
09:16 AM: Bihar polls: Rahul Gandhi urges voters to cast their votes in favour of ‘Mahagathbandhan’ for “justice, employment and farmers-workers”. (PTI)
इस बार न्याय, रोज़गार, किसान-मज़दूर के लिए
आपका वोट हो सिर्फ़ महागठबंधन के लिए।बिहार के पहले चरण के मतदान की आप सभी को शुभकामनाएँ।#आज_बदलेगा_बिहार
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 28, 2020
08:52 AM: Bihar: Voting at polling booth no. 170 in Jehanabad delayed after a glitch was detected in EVM. Voting for the first phase of #BiharElections is underway. (ANI)
Bihar: Voting at polling booth no. 170 in Jehanabad delayed after a glitch was detected in EVM.
Voting for the first phase of #BiharElections is underway. pic.twitter.com/8OQ5Szr1LE
— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2020
08:23 AM: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to address two rallies in Valmikinagar and Kusheshwar Asthan (Darbhanga) today. (ANI)