Page 20 - Jharkhand

LS polls 2024: NDA leads in 10 seats in Jharkhand, INDIA bloc in 4

The BJP was leading in nine Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand, its ally AJSU Party in one, while the Congress and JMM were ahead in two each, according to available trends. Union minister and sitting MP Arjun Munda was trailing to Congress's Kalicharan Munda in Khunti Lok Sabha seat by around 40,000 votes, as per ECI officials. In Singhbhum, JMM's Joba Manjhi was leading by 64,654 votes over her nearest rival Geeta Kora of the BJP after the fourth round of counting, they said. Kora, wife of former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, joined the BJP just ahead of Lok Sabha polls. She was the lone Congress MP in the state. Former DGP and sitting BJP MP VD Ram was leading by 85,340 votes over her nearest rival Mamata Bhuiyan of the RJD in Palamu. In Dumka, BJP's Sita Soren was leading by 12,057 votes over JMM's Nalin Soren. Sita, a three time JMM legislator, joined BJP just ahead of Lok Sabha polls. Sitting BJP MP Nishikant Dubey was leading by 5,734 votes over his nearest rival Pradeep

400 Dumka villagers boycott voting over coal dumping yard construction

Over 400 people in a village in Dumka district boycotted voting in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha polls on Saturday to protest against the construction of a coal dumping yard, an official said. A total of 426 voters did not exercise their franchise at booth number 94 in Bagdubhi village, a part of the Dumka Lok Sabha constituency, he said. Out of 430 voters enrolled in the booth, only four electors have exercised their franchise till 3 pm, Dumka Circle Officer Amar Kumar told PTI. He said the villagers have been protesting against the construction of the Railways' coal dumping yard. Sub-divisional Officer Ajay Kumar held a meeting with the villagers and assured them of raising the issue with higher authorities. However, they did not agree to vote. A representative of the village, Lakshman Soren, told PTI, We made it clear that if the SDO gives us an assurance in writing to stop the construction of the yard, we will go to cast our votes. But, we were not given any suc

Lok Sabha elections Phase 7: 49.68% voter turnout recorded till 3 pm

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 7 voter turnout: At more than 60 per cent, Jharkhand recorded the highest voter turnout at 3 pm, Bihar had the lowest at 42.95 per cent

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 7: Over 40% voter turnout recorded till 1 pm

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 7 voter turnout: Himachal Pradesh had the highest voter turnout at 48.63

LS polls 2024: 46.80% turnout recorded till 1 pm in Jharkhand's 3 seats

Voting for three Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand commenced on Saturday, amid tight security, officials said. Polling began at 7 am in Dumka, Rajmahal, and Godda, and will continue till 5 pm. A total of 52 candidates, including eight women, are contesting in this final phase, the state's fourth and the seventh nationwide. Nineteen candidates each are competing in Dumka and Godda, while Rajmahal has 14 contestants. Approximately 53.23 lakh voters are eligible to cast their ballots in these three constituencies, with Godda having the highest number of voters at 20.28 lakh, and Dumka the lowest at 15.91 lakh. Over two lakh are first-time voters in the 18-19 age group, while 439 are aged over 100 years. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said preparations are in place for free and fair polls, including sealing the borders with neighboring Bihar and West Bengal, where polls are also taking place. Arrangements have been made to transport elderly citizens and persons with disabilitie

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 7: Over 26.3% voter turnout recorded till 11 am

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Seventh phase will see voting in 57 of 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, across seven states and one UT

Sunday holidays linked to Christians, one district tried to change it: Modi

Lok Sabha elections 2024: While addressing election rally in Dumka, Jharkhand, Modi says one district in Jharkhand tried to change weekly-offs from Sunday to Fridays

Money laundering case: IAS Manish Ranjan appears before ED for questioning

Senior IAS officer Manish Ranjan on Tuesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in a money laundering case in which the agency recently arrested Jharkhand Rural Development minister Alamgir Alam, official sources said. Ranjan arrived at the ED office here around 11.15 am, they said. Ranjan is a former secretary of the Rural Development department. He is currently the secretary of the Land, Road and Building department and had been asked to depose before the federal agency at its zonal office here on May 28. The IAS officer had earlier been summoned to appear before the ED officials on May 24 but he skipped the summons and had sought more time. The summons is linked to the ED investigation in which Congress leader and state Rural Development minister Alamgir Alam, his former personal secretary Sanjeev Kumar Lal and the latter's domestic help Jahangir Alam were arrested early this month. The agency had claimed to have recovered more than Rs 32 crore from

Jharkhand HC seeks ED's response in bail plea filed by Ex-CM Hemant Soren

The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a reply on the bail application moved by former chief minister Hemant Soren. Soren, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 in connection with a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam, filed the petition before the high court on Monday and requested an early hearing of the matter. Appearing on behalf of Soren before a bench of Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay, senior advocate Kapil Sibal pleaded that the JMM leader was a victim of political conspiracy. The court directed the ED to file a response in the matter and set June 10 as the next date of the hearing. In his petition, Soren pleaded before the court that his name does not figure in any of the documents about 8.5 acres of land in the Bargain circle and no offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act is made out against him. He also claimed that the ED was relying only on statements of some people who ha

Court extends ED remand of Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam for 3 more days

A special PMLA court in Ranchi on Monday extended Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam's remand with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for three more days in connection with an alleged money laundering case, his legal representatives said. Alam had been taken into custody by the ED on May 15 following two days of interrogation at the agency's office. Initially remanded for six days by the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court starting May 17, his remand was subsequently extended for five days on May 22. Alam's lawyer, Kishlay Prasad, said that the ED prayed for a three-day extension of remand for further inquiry, which was granted by the court. "The ED indicated the necessity for additional inquiries and the requirement for details regarding immovable properties," Prasad elaborated. Alam, who serves as the state parliamentary affairs minister and represents the Pakur seat in the Jharkhand Assembly, is under investigation for alleged irregularities and bribery in the state rural

Lok Sabha polls 2024: EC releases absolute number of voters for 5 phases

Election Commission says recorded vote counts was communicated to all candidates' polling agents on the polling day and such data is unalterable

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 6: Over 49% voter turnout recorded till 3 pm

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Sixth phase will see voting in 58 of 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, including all seven seats in Delhi

Eastern India's largest auto cluster seeks to emerge from Tata shadow

Jamshedpur has 600-700 ancillary units in its industrial areas that solely depend on Tata Motors and Tata Steel

JMM-led coalition tarnished J'khand's image due to corruption, alleges Teli

The JMM-led ruling coalition in Jharkhand has tarnished the state's image due to its record in corruption, Union minister Rameswar Teli has alleged. Teli also claimed that the Jharkhand government has no achievements to show during its tenure except loot of mineral in connivance with senior officials. The JMM-Congress-RJD combine has tarnished the image of the state, setting a record in corruption, the Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas said in a release. Criticising the INDIA bloc, Teli said opposition parties are making big announcements and promises in the wake of the Narendra Modi government's action against leaders involved in corruption. The efficient leadership of Modi, his policies and achievements will lead the BJP to win all the 14 parliamentary seats in Jharkhand, he asserted. The minister also said that the Centre was not getting support from state governments over its proposal to bring petrol and diesel under the purview of GST. PM Modi wishes to

LS polls: Battle for Ranchi seat draws Congress, BJP in close contest

Congress' Yashaswini Sahay is pitted against a formidable rival in the form of the BJP's Sanjay Seth

LS polls 2024 phase 5: Nearly 42% voter turnout in Jharkhand till 1 pm

Polling for three Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand began on Monday morning, marking the second phase of elections in the state and fifth nationally, officials said. Voting began at 7 am in Chatra, Koderma and Hazaribag seats, and will continue till 5 pm. In this phase, 22 candidates are contesting from Chatra, 15 from Koderma, and 17 from Hazaribag. Approximately 58.34 lakh voters, including 28.35 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in these three constituencies. Voting also began for the Gandey assembly by-poll in the state. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said this phase covers seven districts across three parliamentary constituencies, with polling materials and parties dispatched to 65 interior booths via choppers. Kumar noted that there are a total of 6,705 booths, including 6,130 in rural areas, with 73 booths managed by women, 13 by persons with disabilities, and 13 by youths. In Chatra parliamentary constituency, there are 16.89 lakh voters, includ

Phase 5 of Lok Sabha elections 2024: What was the voter turnout at 11 am?

In the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, 49 out of 543 constituencies went to polls in six states and two Union Territories. Votes will be counted on June 4

ED arrests Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate Wednesday arrested Congress leader and Jharkhand Rural Development Minister Alamgir Alam in a money laundering case, official sources said. The 70-year-old was taken into custody at the agency's zonal office here under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after about six hours of interrogation on the second day of questioning, the sources said. He was grilled by the federal agency Tuesday for over nine hours and his statement was also recorded. The agency had last week arrested Alam's personal secretary and state administrative service officer Sanjeev Kumar Lal (52) and the latter's domestic help Jahangir Alam (42) following the seizure of more than Rs 32 crore cash from a flat linked to them. The money laundering investigation pertains to alleged irregularities and payment of "bribes" in the state rural development department. While seeking the remand of the two arrested persons, the ED had informed a special PMLA court here

No interim relief for Hemant Soren; JMM chief cites Kejriwal's bail to SC

The Supreme Court scheduled former chief minister Hemant Soren's hearing for May 17, challenging his arrest in money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam

Lok Sabha polls 2024: Jharkhand records 44% voter turnout till 1 pm

Nearly 12 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 9 am in four Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand on Monday, elections officials said here. Voting started at 7 am in Singhbhum, Lohardaga, Khunti and Palamu seats amid tight security measures, marking the first phase of elections in the eastern state, and will continue till 5 pm. Maoist-hit Singhbhum seat saw about 12.67 per cent voter turnout till 9 am while the same was at 12.20 per cent, about 10.97 per cent and 11.47 per cent in Khunti, Lohardaga and Palamu seats respectively. Union Minister and BJP candidate from Khunti Arjun Munda said he was "confident that the people of the country will elect BJP and make Narendra Modi Prime Minister once again." JMM candidate from Singhbhum Lok Sabha seat Joba Manjhi and BJP candidate from Lohardaga Samir Oroan have exercised their franchise. So far the polling has been peaceful in the four Lok Sabha seats, officials said. Over 64.37 lakh electors, including 32.07 lakh women and 42 persons belo