64.58 per cent polling till 7 pm in 4 LS seats of Jharkhand

An estimated 64.19 per cent of the 65.87 lakh electorate exercised their franchise till 7 pm in the four Lok Sabha constituencies during the second phase of polling in Jharkhand on Monday.

Polling in Koderma, Ranchi, Khunti (ST) and Hazaribag parliamentary constituencies passed off peacefully, Election Commission (EC) officials said.

Of the four constituencies, Koderma recorded the maximum turnout at 65.81 per cent, followed by Khunti at 65.22 per cent, Ranchi at 64.22 per cent and Hazaribagh at 63.2 per cent.

Of the total electorate, 31,44,679 were females and 83 belonged to the third gender, an EC official said.

Polling began at 7 am, the official said, adding the percentage will increase after the final tally.

In all, there were 8,834 polling stations, the official said.

A total 1,147 out of 8,834 polling stations had webcasting facilities, he said.

The Election Commission had appointed 39,909 polling personnel and 1,191 micro observers for polling on Monday.

Adequate security arrangements were made and the EC had deployed 173 companies of para military forces, 52 companies of the state police, 20,000 district police personnel, 5,800 home guards, 3,000 women police personnel and 6,200 police officers, a police officer said.

Union minister Jayant Sinha, former chief ministers Arjun Munda and Babulal Marandi, former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay and ex-MLA Kalicharan Munda were among the 61 candidates whose fates were sealed during the second phase of elections in the state.

While BJP's Jayant Sinha contested the elections from Hazaribag, BJP candidate Arjun Munda took on Congress's Kalicharan Munda in Khunti constituency, another Congress candidate Subodh Kant Sahay faced BJP's Sanjay Seth from Ranchi.

Babulal Marandi, the president of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) was pitted against BJP's Annapurna Devi in Koderma.