A total of 629 nominations have been filed for the 49 seats going to polls in the first phase of the Assembly elections. The filing of nomination papers for the first phase ended on Wednesday.

Additional chief electoral officer R. Laxmanan said 381 nominations were filed on the last day. The scrutiny of the documents would be done on September 24.

The last date of withdrawal of names is September 26. The polling would be held on October 12. Laxmanan said 47 observers out of 49 Assembly constituencies going to polls in the first phase have already reached their destinations. Ten police observers have been deployed to ensure fair and peaceful polls. Some of the constituencies have been identified as Maoist affected.

He further said the commission held a meeting with representatives of different telecommunication service providers to ensure better network during the elections. The representatives of the service providers have assured to cooperate with the officials assigned to keep a tab on text messages and voice SMSes sent to people in bulk during the polls, he added.

A workshop was organised for the representatives of both print and electronic mediapersons to sensitise them about paid news.

Voter turnout push

The Muzaffarpur district administration has decided to organise "Chunav Chaupal" in the 11 Assembly constituency areas. The administration has decided to organise "Chaupal" in a bid to motivate people of these areas to exercise their right to vote.

Muzaffarpur district magistrate-cum-district election officer Dharmendra Kumar said: "The selection of booths has been done on the basis of voter turnouts in the past and preference has been given to areas which have witnessed a low percentage during the 2010 Assembly and 2014 general elections."

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KHWAJA JAMAL IN MUZAFFARPUR