Patna, July 30 (IANS) As polling for the Bankipur Assembly by-election progressed on Thursday, voters expressed hope that the next elected representative would prioritise development, strengthen civic infrastructure, and work towards the overall growth of the constituency.
Polling began peacefully on Thursday morning, with voters arriving steadily at polling stations, although long queues were seen during the early hours at some places.
A total of 3,79,616 voters are eligible to decide the electoral fate of the contestants. The contest is primarily seen as a triangular fight between Jan Suraaj candidate Prashant Kishor, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Rekha Gupta, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha, who is backed by the NDA.
Speaking to IANS after casting their votes, several residents highlighted development and better civic amenities as their key expectations from the future MLA.
One voter said, “The issues remain the same – safety, security, a clean environment for business, sanitation, and overall civic facilities. We want these basic amenities and standards to be maintained.”
Another voter said development remained the primary concern for the constituency and credited the previous MLA for infrastructure work.
“Development is our priority. The previous MLA did good development work in this constituency, so we support the BJP,” the voter said.
Highlighting the importance of voting, another elector told IANS, “I always prefer to vote early in the morning. Just as studying in the morning helps you remember better, work done early brings success. I haven’t had breakfast yet; I will do that later. Casting my vote is my priority.”
Another voter also expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made at the polling station, saying, “The arrangements are very good… It’s a great feeling.”
The district administration has put in place extensive security arrangements to ensure free and fair polling.
422 polling stations have been established across the constituency, and 14 companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed.
Security arrangements include 9 squad platoons, 18 static surveillance teams, six video surveillance teams, three video viewing teams, and 42 sector officers.
–IANS
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