The ongoing Bihar polls are attracting thousands of its migrants from far and wide, just to exercise their franchise — an initiative that people had not taken up with so much enthusiasm in the past.
Mohammed Atiqur Rahman from Saudi Arabia is among the people who have returned home to cast his vote in the election that is being held in five phases.
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Rahman says he visited his native village in Samastipur district to cast his vote in the first phase of the election on Monday.
Saudia-based Rahman said he spent Rs.2 lakh to visit home, just to cast his franchise. He voted at polling booth No. 154.
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Around 57 percent of 13.5 million electorate voted in 49 of the 243 constituencies in the first round of battle for political power in Bihar that passed off largely peacefully on Monday.
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According to the Association for Democratic Reforms and the National Election Watch, as many as 130 candidates in the first round of polls face serious criminal charges including murder.