File photo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted early morning asking voters in Bihar to vote in large numbers.
"I particularly urge my young friends to cast their vote," PM Modi tweeted as polling began in 49 constituencies in the first of five phases in the Bihar assembly elections. He was addressing a significant portion of the electorate.
This phase has 507,021 young voters in the 18 to 19 age group.
About 2.05 crore voters in Bihar are under 30 years of age. Of these, 25.55 lakh are first-time voters, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch.
In the first phase, of 135.3 crore voters, a little over 72 lakh are men and 63 lakh are women. Women and young voters turned up in large numbers to vote early in the morning.
Prime Minister Modi has, in his campaign speeches in Bihar, focused on the state's youth with promises of skill building opportunities and employment in Bihar, which sees lakhs of young men and women traveling out of the state for work.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who takes on PM Modi's BJP this time as the head of an alliance of three parties, has also reached out to the state's youth and its women in his campaign.
Nitish Kumar is seeking a third straight term as chief minister.
The BJP, which has partnered with three regional parties for the Bihar election, has not projected a chief ministerial candidate. The face of its campaign is PM Modi, who is addressing a blitz off rallies in the state.
Votes will be counted on November 8.