Jitan Ram Manjhi hails CM Nitish Kumar's law and order record, urges people to vote

New Delhi, Nov 6 (IANS) Union Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi, on Thursday, appealed to the people of Bihar to come out in large numbers and exercise their democratic right in the ongoing first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections.

Speaking to IANS, Manjhi said, “Our first appeal to the people of Bihar is that everyone should use their right to vote, every citizen must cast their vote. That’s our foremost request to all sections of society. Secondly, under the leadership of the double-engine government, Bihar has been moving ahead rapidly in terms of development and law and order, progressing at a speed of more than 100 per cent.”

Speaking about the governance and stability of the current administration, the HAM founder praised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, citing his leadership as the key to Bihar’s improved law and order situation.

“During Nitish Kumar’s tenure, there have been no caste riots or religious unrest of any kind. From a law-and-order perspective, too, the situation has been manageable,” Manjhi said. “An incident occurred in Mokama; even then, we did not hesitate to put people from our own side behind bars when required. Nitish Kumar’s basic principle is that he neither frames anyone nor protects anyone unfairly.”

Manjhi’s comments are being seen as both a call for high voter turnout and a reaffirmation of the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) campaign narrative -- that of steady progress and social harmony under a “double-engine” government led by Nitish Kumar in Bihar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre.

The Election Commission has urged all eligible voters to reach their polling stations and cast their votes responsibly in the ongoing first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections.

Polling for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections began at 7 a.m. on Thursday across 18 districts, covering 121 Assembly constituencies. A total of 1,314 candidates, including 1,192 men and 122 women, are contesting in this phase.

According to the ECI, 3,75,13,302 electors, including 1,98,35,325 men, 1,76,77,219 women, and 758 third gender voters, will decide the outcome.

Voting is taking place across 45,341 polling stations, with 36,733 in rural areas and 8,608 in urban areas. Among these, 320 model stations, 926 women-managed, and 107 PwD-managed booths have been set up. All polling stations are under webcasting surveillance to ensure transparency. While general polling will continue until 6 p.m., in six Naxal-affected constituencies, voting will conclude at 5 p.m.

--IANS

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