52% polling in Jharkhand phase-I

RANCHI: Amid air surveillance and tight security, polling for the first of five phases of assembly elections passed off peacefully in Jharkhand, without any major untoward incident. State’s joint chief electoral officer A K Sinha said more than 52% polling was recorded in the 26 assembly constituencies, which went to polls on Wednesday.

Polling was by and large peaceful in all the constituencies, barring sporadic incidents of group clash and non-functioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

“There was a scuffle between the bodyguard of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha candidate Suraj Mandal and voters at Patartola of Poreyahat assembly constituency, following which he resorted to firing. The bodyguard was soon brought to the Poreyahat police station where a case was lodged. He was later suspended,” said Mr Sinha.

He said as many as 123 troublemakers were arrested during polling from all over the state. “There were some complaints of non-functioning of EVMs which were rectified immediately. We have not received any complaint regarding poll rigging from any part of the state,” he said.

Littipara and Pakur recorded the highest voter turnout with 62%, followed by Sarath’s 61%. However, the turnout was relatively lower in urban pockets with Ranchi, Jamshedpur East, Jamshedpur West & Dhanbad recording 45% each. The EC had deployed 790 micro-observers while 1,073 video/digital cameras were used for keeping a tab in 26 constituencies.