Overview
- After voting in Lakhisarai, Giriraj Singh claimed the Election Commission has placed an Anganwadi worker at every booth to help identify suspected fraudulent voting.
- He said burqa-clad voters should show their faces if polling staff have doubts about identity, comparing the practice to checks for Aadhaar, travel and government services.
- Singh framed the exercise as constitutional and secular, rejecting references to Sharia and contrasting India with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
- Phase one covers 121 constituencies, and officials reported 13.13% turnout among 3.75 crore voters in the first two hours.
- Police and paramilitary forces were posted at sensitive and hyper-sensitive polling stations as voting proceeded through the day.