Second phase: 50-55 % polling in Bihar, Jharkhand

The second phase of the assembly elections in Bihar and Jharkhand on Tuesday saw a fairly healthy turnout.

The turnout in Jharkhand was 55 to 60 per cent while it was 50 to 52 per cent in Bihar, Election Commission spokesman A N Jha said in New Delhi.

Jha said polling was by and large peaceful and there was no major incident in Jharkhand.

A Rashtriya Janata Dal candidate was detained for intimidating voters and there were reports of malfunctioning of electronic voting machines from three booths, he said.

In Bihar, there were reports of police firing in Munger, Saharsa and Barauni, but there were no casualties, Jha said.

There were reports of clashes between activists of different parties from Munger, Lakhisarai, Saharsa and Purnea, he said.

From three places, there were reports of poll boycott by the electorate for lack of power, water and roads. Some did not have voter identity cards, Jha said.

At least 70 people were taken into custody in the state, he said.

The last phase of polling is scheduled for February 23 in both states. Counting of votes will take place on February 27. Votes polled in Haryana on February 3 in the first phase will also be counted on February 27.