Observers' no to repolling in 71 seats of Bihar assembly elections

Patna, Oct 30: Observers have not recommended repolling in any of the 71 seats that went to polls in the first phase of the Bihar assembly elections on October 28, an Election Commission statement said on Friday.

State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) H R Srinivas, in his report based on inputs provided by returning officers and district election officers, has also concluded that repolling was not required in any of the seats, it said.

General observers conducted post-poll scrutiny of all the 71 seats in the presence of candidates/political parties and concluded: "The polling process was completed on poll day peacefully and in accordance with statutory instructions in all the 31,371 polling booths spread across 71 constituencies in 16 districts of the state," the statement said.

A total of 55.69 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise in the first phase of the elections.

Meanwhile, the CEO''s office said various enforcement agencies have so far seized items worth Rs 50 crore, including cash, since the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct on September 25, another release said.

Of the total cash amount, Rs 3.21 crore was seized by Income Tax officials during raids in various parts of the state on Thursday.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Patna has seized 561 kg ganja from a vehicle in Lakhisarai district, it said, without giving details of its value.