BJP-led NDA candidate Jitan Ram Manjhi casts vote in Bihar's Jehanabad, urges voters to exercise franchise

Jehanabad: In the concluding phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Jitan Ram Manjhi, the founder of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and the BJP-led NDA candidate contesting from the Gaya Lok Sabha seat, exercised his franchise at a polling booth in Jehanabad, Bihar.
Accompanied by his son and party president Santosh Suman, Manjhi highlighted the significance of voting in a democracy, emphasizing its role in shaping the nation's future. He expressed optimism for a peaceful voting process and urged citizens to actively participate in the democratic exercise.
"Voting is a significant festival in a democracy, and everyone should exercise their right to vote. We also believe that voting is essential, so we came with our entire family and cast our votes. Voting is proceeding peacefully, and I hope it concludes peacefully as well," Manjhi said.
Santosh Suman after casting his vote said that they are voting for 'Bharat Nirman', 'Viksit Bharat', and a 'Samriddh Bharat'.
"This is the biggest festival of democracy. We are voting for 'Bharat Nirman', for 'Viksit Bharat', for 'Samriddh Bharat'. I want to appeal to all the voters who are voting today to come out of their homes and participate in the voting. Make this great festival even bigger so that we can build the new India we dream of," Suman said.
Along with Jitan Ram Manjhi, his family also cast their vote on Saturday.
The voting in the Gaya parliamentary constituency of Bihar was completed on April 1.
In Gaya Lok Sabha constituency, Jitan Ram Manjhi and former minister and RJD candidate Kumar Sarvjeet are in the electoral fray. The seat was earlier represented in parliament by Vijay Kumar alias Vijay Manjhi of JD(U).
In the last Lok Sabha election, the JD (U) candidate defeated Manjhi by a margin of more than 1.52 lakh votes. Manjhi's HAM was part of a grand alliance in the last election.
Gaya has its religious significance as it's on the banks of the river Falgu. Internationally acclaimed Mahabodhi Mahavihara (temple), where Gautam Buddha got enlightenment, is located here. The seat is reserved for scheduled castes.
Meanwhile, voting is underway in the last 57 parliamentary constituencies across seven states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. The seventh phase marks a grand finish to the world's largest polling marathon that began on the 19th of last month and has already covered six phases and 486 Lok Sabha seats.
According to the Election Commission of India, over 10.06 crore electors including approximately 5.24 crore male, 4.82 crore female and 3574 third gender electors are expected to exercise their franchise.
The seven States in which polling is scheduled include Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Polling for the remaining 42 Assembly constituencies of the Odisha State Legislative Assembly will also take place simultaneously.
A total of 904 candidates are in the fray for the final phase of polling. The prominent candidates in the fray in this phase include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad, Nishikant Dubey, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Congress leaders Manish Tewari, Charanjit Singh Channi, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Misa Bharti.