(This story originally appeared in on Oct 13, 2015)

PATNA: On the opening day of what's being called the mother of all elections, more women than men came out to vote, and with total attendance at booths close to 57 per cent, yesterday's voter turnout was also the highest for these seats since delimitation in 2008.In addition, polling was 4 per cent higher than it was for the Lok Sabha elections last year. The election commission said these numbers could rise once the final compilation is done.59.5 per cent women came out to vote, which was higher than the male turnout of 54.5 per cent. There was intense speculation on whether the 4 per cent rise in women's votes -- that could prove to be a game-changer -- had to do with the goodwill Chief Minister Nitish Kumar enjoys because of his various women-oriented programmes.The CM's call for prohibition just before the polls were announced was also seen as aimed at toward women. Still, skeptics pointed out that the supposed goodwill for the JD (U) boss was not in evidence in the Lok Sabha polls. They believe that goodwill likely evaporated because of his partnership with Lalu Prasad Yadav, during whose term women's safety reached a nadir."It may be because of the exodus of men to other states primarily for work," was another theory from Bihar 's chief electoral officer Ajay V Nayak. Some felt the higher turnout could have been due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's impassioned campaign, which led to record audiences attending his rallies. This might firm the BJP's position in a state where the caste configuration appears to be aligned against the party. Some observers said that 'polarization among the non-upper caste sections' is the reason for the higher turnout.Significantly, with four rounds of elections still to go, the BJP amplified its proposal to pick a chief ministerial candidate from among the backward or extremely backward castes. Party spokesman Shahnawaz Husain named five-term Gaya legislator, Prem Kumar, as the saffron-led alliance's nominee for the top job. Prem Kumar, who belongs to the Chandravanshi kahar, or the palanquin-bearer caste, could help the BJP attract 24 per cent EBC votes. That will be key for a party that has for long been identified with upper castes. In a predominantly backward state, the choice of Prem Kumar also shields the BJP from accusations of polarising the state along 'forward-backward' lines.Enthusiastic voters queued up at booths early, and by 10am, three hours after polling began, 20 per cent had cast their votes. By the time Prime Minister Narendra Modi finished his election speech in Kaimur, at around 2.15pm, the voting percentage had more than doubled. The oldest woman voter was Maharani Devi, 108, from Teghra constituency in Begusarai.Helicopters and UAVs kept vigil above ground, while 1.55 lakh security personnel were deployed on the ground. Of the 10 districts where the polls were held, Khagaria recorded the highest turnout of 61 per cent followed by Samastipur (60 per cent), Begusarai (59 per cent), Banka (58 per cent), Jamui (57 per cent), Bhagalpur (56 per cent), Munger and Sheikhpura (55 per cent) and Lakhisarai (54 per cent).The lowest polling was recorded in Nawada at 53 per cent. In Maoist-hit areas too, voting was 3-10 per cent more than before. Sikandra in Jamui recorded a 10 per cent increase, the EC said.Initially, there were some technical glitches, as 280 electronic voting machines stopped working and had to be replaced. At least 110 people were arrested. Sangeeta Sinha, a voter in Bhagalpur, said she realized that she had voted for the right candidate when she got a receipt from the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail machine. "I want a stable government that will work for Bihar's development," she said.