59.27 pc polling recorded till 3 pm in Jharkhand polls

A voter turnout of 59.27 per cent was recorded till 3 pm on Saturday in the second phase of Jharkhand Assembly elections, according to the Election Commission.

In this phase of the election, over 48 lakh voters have been exercising their franchise.

State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Vinay Kumar Choubey, informed that 6,066 polling booths have been set up to facilitate voting.

Key leaders contesting in this phase of polling include Chief Minister Raghubar Das from Jamshedpur (East) seat, state Assembly speaker Dinesh Oraon and BJP state unit chief Laxman Guila.

Earlier in the day, one person died and three others were injured during firing by security forces outside a polling booth in Gumla, said Vishnu Dev Chaudhary, police in-charge Sisai Gumla district.

Police resorted to firing after a minor clash broke between them and the locals outside booth number 36 of Sisai constituency in Gumla where polling for the second phase of Assembly elections is underway. The problem began when people got angry due to the delay in voting.

Due to security reasons, polling at 18 constituencies, barring Jamshedpur East and Jamshedpur West, will be held between 7 am and 3 pm. In the other two Assembly seats, the voters can cast their ballot till 5 pm.

Other constituencies where polling is underway are Khunti, Mandar, Sisai, Majhgaon, Manoharpur, Saraikela, Chaibasa, Baharagora, Ghatsila, Potka, Simdega, Kolebira, Kharsawaan, Tamar, Jagannathpur and Torpa. Six of these Assembly constituencies witnessing polling are located in East Singhbum district where the district administration and senior police officers have taken all preventive measures to conduct the poll in a peaceful and fair manner.

Jharkhand, which has 81-member Assembly, is undergoing polling in five phases.

The first phase of election in the state had taken place on November 30. Voting for the third phase will be conducted on December 12, the fourth phase on December 16, and the fifth and last phase on December 20. Counting of votes will take place on December 23.