Lok Sabha Election Phase 7: Over 10% polling recorded in eight seats in Bihar till 9 am

Around 10.58 per cent of over 1.62 crore voters exercised their franchise in eight Lok Sabha seats in Bihar till 9 am in the last phase of elections on Saturday, officials said.

Voting began at 7 am in Patna Sahib, Patliputra, Arrah, Karakat, Jehanabad, Buxar, Nalanda and Jehanabad Lok Sabha seats and will continue till 6 pm.

Patliputra recorded the highest turnout at 12.39 per cent, followed by Jehanabad (12.21), Karakat (11.75), Sasaram (11.18), Patna Sahib (10.76), Arrah (9.32) Nalanda (9.17) and Buxar (8.32) till 9 am.

Voting is also underway for by-election to Agiaon assembly segment in Arrah Lok Sabha seat. A total of 8.50 per cent turnout was recorded in the by-election till 9 am.

The by-poll was necessitated due to the disqualification of CPI (ML) Liberation MLA Manoj Manzil following his conviction in a murder case. The Left party's candidate in the by-poll is Shiv Prakash Ranjan, while the NDA has fielded Prabhunath Prasad of JD (U).

In the last phase of Lok Sabha polls, over 1.62 crore people will decide the fate of 134 candidates at 16,634 polling stations, with 3,885 situated in urban areas.

Bihar Governor Rajendra V Arlekar cast his vote at a polling booth on the Raj Bhavan premises.

"I urge people to exercise their franchise in large numbers. It's a festival of democracy," he told reporters after casting his vote.

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and their daughter Rohini Acharya also cast their votes at a polling booth in Patna.

Talking to reporters after casting her vote, Acharya, who is contesting from Saran Lok Sabha seat as a Mahagathbandhan nominee, told reporters, "I cast my vote for the safety, security and respect of the women of Manipur." Several high-profile candidates are in the fray including Union minister RK Singh, who is seeking his third term from Arrah, where his principal challenger is Sudama Prasad, a sitting MLA of CPI (ML) Liberation.

In Patna Sahib, veteran BJP parliamentarian Ravi Shankar Prasad is vying for a second consecutive Lok Sabha term, with Congress spokesperson Anshul Avijit as his principal challenger.

In Pataliputra, RJD president Lalu Prasad's eldest daughter Misa Bharti is contesting for the third time, while BJP MP Ram Kripal Yadav is aiming for a hat-trick.

In Nalanda, the home district of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, sitting MP Kaushlendra Kumar hopes to retain the seat for JD (U), with Sandeep Saurav, a sitting CPI (ML) MLA, as the principal challenger.

Karakat is witnessing a multi-cornered fight, notably with Bhojpuri superstar Pawan Singh contesting as an Independent. Upendra Kushwaha, former Union minister and head of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, is hopeful of regaining the seat following his return to the BJP-led coalition.