Bihar Polling: Protests and EVM Glitches
Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 face disruptions as EVM glitches and local protests halt polling across several districts during the first phase of voting
Bihar Polling (PC- Social Media)
Patna: Polling for the first phase of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections is currently underway across 18 districts, covering 121 constituencies. Voting began at 7 a.m. and will continue until 6 p.m.
The voting process has been marred by several incidents of technical glitches and sporadic disruptions due to Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) faults.
At booth numbers 334 and 335 in Lalganj, Vaishali district, polling was halted after an EVM developed a fault, leading to an uproar among voters who raised slogans of “vote chori.” Similar problems were reported from booth number 153 in Darbhanga and one booth in Raghopur, where polling had to be temporarily suspended.
In Danapur, voting was interrupted at booth number 196 after an EVM malfunction, though polling resumed after about half an hour. A similar issue at booth number 316 in Bakhtiyarpur caused long queues as voters waited for polling to restart. Technical problems were also reported from Madhepura and Raghopur.
Meanwhile, polling was boycotted at three booths — numbers 161, 162, and 170 — in Muzaffarpur’s Gaighat Assembly constituency, where locals refused to vote over demands for road and bridge construction. Election officials said efforts are being made to persuade voters to participate.