Tight security in Bihar for polling in the fourth round of multi-phase Indian national elections

(13 May 2024)
RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Samastipur, Bihar - 13 May 2024
1. Various of people waiting at voting centre
2. Close of woman getting her finger inked
3. Various of people getting their documents checked before voting, lining up to vote
4. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Nikhilesh Mishra, 42, bank employee:
“Raking up issues of Hindus versus Muslims will take us nowhere. You need development and, that too, not in a specific field or a specific person but as you say progress for all with everyone’s support that should be done and educated accordingly.”
5. Mid of an election official marking a woman's finger as a sign of voting
6. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Nikhilesh Mishra, 42, bank employee:
“Change is nature’s law and only once there is a change one gets to know its pros and cons.”
7. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Ram Bhagat Rai, 69, farmer:
“The issue of development and inflation that’s on our mind.”
8. Various of people waiting to vote
STORYLINE:
Millions of Indians across 96 constituencies began casting their ballots on Monday as the country's gigantic, six-week-long election edges past its halfway mark.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third straight term with an eye on winning a supermajority in Parliament.
Monday’s polling in the fourth round of multi-phase national elections across nine states and one union territory will be pivotal for Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, as it includes some of its strongholds in states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Crucial seats in Maharashtra and Bihar states, where the BJP governs in alliances with regional parties, are also up for grabs in this phase.
In Bihar’s Samastipur city, hundreds of voters lined up at a polling station that opened at 7 a.m. amid tight security arrangements.
Voters said they were concerned about rising food prices, lack of employment and economic development in the state.
Most polls predict a win for Modi and his BJP, which is up against a broad opposition alliance led by the Indian National Congress and powerful regional parties.
The staggered election will run until June 1 and nearly 970 million voters, more than 10% of the world’s population, will elect 543 members to the lower house of Parliament for five years.
The votes are scheduled to be counted on June 4.
AP video shot by Rishi Lekhi
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