Patna, May 12 Voting for the Bhojpur-Buxar Legislative Council by-election was underway under tight security arrangements across 14 polling stations in Bihar's Bhojpur district.
The otherwise orderly process was, however, briefly disrupted by chaos at a polling booth in Ara.
The incident took place at the polling station located within the Ara Sadar Block office, where RJD candidate Sonu Kumar alleged that the magistrate deployed at the entrance was facilitating voting in favour of the NDA candidate.
Following the accusation, a heated argument broke out between the candidate, his supporters, and the on-duty magistrate.
The situation escalated when an RJD supporter allegedly grabbed the collar of duty Magistrate Shashi Bhushan Tiwari during a confrontation over identity verification.
The altercation led to panic and commotion at the polling station. Police and administrative officials present at the site promptly intervened, bringing the situation under control and restoring order.
Sources indicate that the dispute intensified because the magistrate was not visibly wearing his official identity card while on duty.
A video of the incident, showing the verbal clash and physical scuffle, has since gone viral on social media.
Despite the disruption, authorities ensured that voting resumed smoothly.
The by-election has three candidates in the fray, with the primary contest between NDA candidate Kanhaiya Prasad and RJD candidate Sonu Kumar.
To maintain law and order, the administration has deployed 14 Zonal Magistrates and four Super-Zonal Magistrates across all polling stations.
Additional police personnel and security forces have also been stationed at each centre.
A district-level control room has been set up to monitor proceedings, with live webcasting and videography arrangements in place at all polling booths.
The bye-election has been necessitated due to a casual vacancy following the resignation of JD(U) leader Radha Charan Sah.
He won the Bihar Assembly election from the Sandesh Assembly constituency in 2025.
Voting started at 8 a.m. and will continue till 4 p.m. The counting of votes will take place on May 14.
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