64% polling in Jharkhand's Maoist belt (4th Lead)

Despite soaring temperatures, Jharkhand recorded more than 64 per cent polling on Monday for the three Lok Sabha seats in the state's Maoist-affected areas, according to the Election Commission (EC) data.

Voting for the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Jharkhand is scheduled to be held in four phases, starting with the three seats that went to the polls on Monday.

Polling began at 7 a.m. across 6,072 polling stations in Lohardaga, Chatra and Palamau Lok Sabha constituencies and ended at 4 p.m.

Initial EC data showed that Chatra witnessed 62.06 per cent voting, Lohardaga 63.56 per cent and Palamau 64.31 per cent.

Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs and BJP candidate Sudarshan Bhagat cast his vote in Lohardaga.

The mercury on Monday crossed the 40-degree Celsius mark in most areas where polling took place.

In the first phase of polling in Jharkhand, there were 121 "sakhi" booths managed exclusively by women polling staff.

Voting could not start on time in at least seven polling stations due to technical snags in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

A large turnout was witnessed in the Maoist-affected areas of the state with voters forming long queues outside the polling stations since the morning.

Of the 6,072 polling booths, more than 40 per cent were categorised as either "sensitive" or "very sensitive". Over 140 companies of paramilitary forces were deployed to ensure the smooth conduct of polling.

Chatra is witnessing a triangular contest between BJP's Sunil Singh, Congress' Manoj Yadav and the Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) Subhash Yadav.

In Lohardaga, the BJP's Sudarshan Bhagat will take on Congress' Sukhdeo Bhagat, while in Palamau, the main contest is between V.D. Ram of the BJP and the RJD's Ghuran Ram.

--IANS

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