52 percent polling in Jharkhand

New Delhi, Nov 25 :Jharkhand recorded 52 percent voting in the first phase of assembly elections Wednesday, the Election Commission said. Polls were held in 26 of the state's 81 constituencies.

"Fifty two percent polling was recorded till 3 p.m.," Deputy Election Commissioner Alok Shukla told reporters here.

"Elections were largely peaceful, except for one case where a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidate's personal security officer (PSO) got involved in a scuffle," he said.

Shukla said JMM candidate Suraj Mandal's PSO got involved in an altercation with some people and to disperse the crowds, the candidate's other security officials fired five rounds in the air.

"No one was injured in the incident," Shukla said.

In the first phase, 470 candidates, including 194 independents, were in the fray. Of these, 108 have criminal records and 27 are millionaires. Voting was held at 8,176 polling stations with 13,850 electronic voting machines (EVMs).

About 40,000 security personnel were deployed and four helicopters were pressed into service to ensure peaceful polling.

The five-phased elections get over Dec 18 and counting of votes will be held Dec 23.