With 60.25% per cent voter turnout in the first phase of Bihar Assembly polls, the state has not only surpassed the figure (55.81%) of 2020, but also bettered the turnout of 2015 , 2010 and 2005. Over the past two decades, the state has witnessed dramatic changes in voter behavior, alliance structures, and political loyalty. However, the provisional turnout for the day is awaited.

A combination of factors -- an overt expression for a change in dispensation, heightened political awareness and en masse voting by a particular constituency may have played a crucial role in the higher figures. Top leaders of the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan unequivocally asked the electorate to turn up in record numbers during the two phases.

The fate of several ministers, as well as RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav

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