An estimated 26 per cent of 89.09 lakh voters exercised their franchise till noon on Tuesday in five Lok Sabha seats in the third phase of polling in Bihar.
Polling is underway in a peaceful manner in Jhanjharpur, Supaul, Araria, Madhepura and Khagaria, though EVM malfunctioning delayed the voting process by an hour in five booths in Khagaria, he said.
Till noon, Araria recorded the highest polling at 30.71 per cent, followed by Supaul at 28.50 per cent, Madhepura at 25 per cent, Jhanjharpur at 23.75 per cent and Khagaria at 23 per cent, according to the information received from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).
Prominent among those who cast their votes included BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain and Bihar Legislative Council Vice Chairman Haroon Rashid in their native district of Supaul.
The electoral fate of 82 candidates, including Sharad Yadav, Bihar minister Dinesh Chandra Yadav, former Bollywood set designer and VIP chief Mukesh Sahni apart from sitting MPs Ranjeet Ranjan, her husband Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, Sarafaraz Alam will be decided in the third phase.
Central para military forces, Bihar Military Police, and Special Auxiliary Police personnel have been deployed outside 9,076 polling stations in the five seats where 57,800 poll personnel have been deputed for conducting the polls.