Jharkhand Civic Polls Marred by Clashes, Bogus Voting Allegations

The State Election Commission has not yet released the final voter turnout figures, but the preliminary estimates suggest participation ranged between 45 and 60 per cent across the state.

Polling began at 7 a.m. for nine municipal corporations -- Ranchi, Dhanbad, Deoghar, Adityapur, Chas, Medininagar, Hazaribagh, Giridih and Mango -- along with 20 municipal councils and 19 nagar panchayats. A total of 4,304 polling stations were set up, with long queues of voters seen at several booths since morning.

In Ranchi, Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth and MP Mahua Maji were among the prominent leaders who stood in queues to exercise their franchise.

However, the polling process was marred by multiple incidents of unrest. In Bokaro's Chas area, DSP Praveen Singh was injured during a clash between police and supporters of a candidate following a disturbance at a polling booth.

In Bhojpur Colony, three women were detained on charges of fraudulent voting, leading to brief tension.

In Dhanbad Municipal Corporation, a scuffle broke out between supporters of two candidates at a polling station in Ward 27. An attempt to loot a booth and an assault on a candidate's brother were reported in Ward 22.

In Giridih's Ward 18, a dispute between two groups escalated into a road blockade and protest before administrative officials intervened to restore order.

Violence also erupted at the Ambedkar Nagar polling station in Gumla. In Jamshedpur's Jugsalai area, voting was disrupted for nearly an hour over allegations of bogus voting.

Clashes were also reported from Ranchi's Hindpiri area. In Sahibganj, an accidental discharge from a Home Guard jawan's rifle caused brief panic at a polling booth.

Several voters complained that members of the same family were allotted different polling booths, while others said they were not informed in time about changes in their booth locations, forcing them to move from one polling station to another.

Two major concerns regarding election management also surfaced. Around 50,000 polling personnel were reportedly unable to cast their votes due to the absence of a postal ballot facility.

Questions were also raised over the decision to place ballots for the councillor and mayor-chairperson posts in the same ballot box, with candidates expressing apprehension that this could complicate and delay the counting process.

With polling now over, the fate of 562 candidates contesting for mayor and chairperson posts and 5,562 ward councillor aspirants has been sealed in ballot boxes.

Counting of votes will take place on February 27.

- IANS