Far from the election campaigns and high-decibel claims of political parties, the first phase of Bihar polls on Thursday captured both the grit of voters and the gaps that successive governments have failed to plug.

In Darbhanga's Kusheshwar Asthan constituency, voters braved flooded roads and difficult terrains to cast their votes, many with their children in tow.

"What is this? This is water! If someone breaks a leg or gets hurt, who will accept the responsibility?" an agitated voter said. "People fall, get injured and yet nothing is done. There's no arrangement for drainage. They come asking for votes first, but when will they be ready to fix the roads?," he asked.

Residents claimed that bricks had been hurriedly placed just a day earlier to create a semblance of a pathway.

"When th

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