India, Nov. 6 -- Voting for the first phase of the Bihar assembly elections began on Thursday morning across 121 constituencies amid heavy security deployment, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said.

According to the ECI Bihar office, around 3.75 crore voters are eligible to decide the fate of 1,314 candidates contesting in this round, including key leaders such as the INDIA bloc's chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav and deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary of the BJP.

The other deputy CM, Vijay Kumar Sinha, is also in the fray, seeking to retain the Lakhisarai seat for a fourth consecutive term.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to citizens to participate in large numbers, calling the polls a "celebration of democracy." "...