Highlights: First phase of Jharkhand polls ends. 63% polling reported till 3 pm

First phase of Jharkhand polls ends. 63% polling reported till 3 pm

Polling percentage recorded at 46.83% in the first phase of Jharkhand Assembly Polls till 1 pm.

In the first phase of assembly election in Jharkhand, 46.83% voters turnout was recorded in first six hours of voting in 13 assembly seats.

In first four hours of voting, 46.83% voters’ turnout was recorded in Latehar, Palamu, Garhwa, Chatra, Lohardaga and Gumla districts.

Queues of voters seen outside a polling booth in Maoist violence-affected area of Kanhachatti in Chatra district.

#JharkhandAssemblyPolls: Queues of voters outside a polling booth in naxal affected area of Kanhachatti in Chatra district. #1stPhase pic.twitter.com/MNyjzQWGCS

— ANI (@ANI) 30 November 2019

In the incident at Koshiyara polling booth in Daltonganj assembly constituency, trouble started when the Congress candidate KN Tripathi reached the booth number 72 and 73 at Upgraded Middle School at Koshiyara in Chainpur. At that time, supporters of BJP candidate KN Chaurasia allegedly prevented him from entering booth, surrounded him from all sides and started abusing his supporters. Later, Tripathi was seen displaying a pistol in his defence in a bid to escape mob’s fury in videos that were widely shared.

Palamau Deputy Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer Shantanu Agrahari said a minor clash broke out between two groups near a polling station at Kosiyara in Daltonganj assembly constituency during the first phase of voting on Saturday, reports PTI.

The agitators broke the window panes of a police vehicle after a candidate allegedly tried to enter the polling booth, he said, adding, the situation was quickly brought under control.

The percentage of voting in the first phase of Jharkhand election till 11 am was 27.41% : Election Commssion

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tweeted on Jharkhand election. "Phase 1 of the Jharkhand elections is in progress. I urge those whose constituencies go to the polls today to vote in large numbers & enrich the festival of democracy," the PM said.

झारखंड विधानसभा चुनाव के लिए आज मतदान का पहला चरण है। सभी मतदाताओं से मेरा अनुरोध है कि वे अपना वोट जरूर डालें।

Phase 1 of the Jharkhand elections is in progress. I urge those whose constituencies go to the polls today to vote in large numbers & enrich the festival of democracy.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 30 November 2019

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and the RJD are contesting the assembly election as an alliance. In this phase, the JMM has fielded candidates in four, the Congress in six and the RJD in three constituencies.

The BJP is contesting in 12 seats in the first phase, while it is supporting Independent Vinod Singh from Hussainabad.

Long queues of women voters seen at a polling station at Garu in Manika assembly constituency. Garu is one of most Maoists-affected areas.

Long queues of voters were seen at most of the polling stations in both urban and rural areas since early morning. Within first two hours, two seats in Latehar registered voters’ turnout of 13.25 per cent.

At Ambawtikar and Ashram school booths in Latehar assembly seat, voting started late after the EVM developed technical snag.

In Palamu, it was 10.00 % while Chatra reported voters’ turnout of 11.56 % om first two hours.

According to the Election Commission, 11.2% votes had been cast till 9 am in 13 assembly seats during the first phase of election in Jharkhand.

Maoists have blown up a bridge in Bishnupur in Gumla district, reports news agency ANI. No injuries have been reported. Deputy Commissioner Shashi Ranjan says voting not affected.

Prominent candidates in the first phase are BJP nominee and Jharkhand Health Minister Ramchandra Chandravanshi and Jharkhand PCC president and ex-IPS officer Rameshwar Oraon. Oraon is taking on ex-PCC chief Sukhdeo Bhagat after the latter joined the BJP recently.

Former BJP chief whip Radhakrishna Kishore, who was denied ticket from Chhatarpur, is contesting on AJSU party ticket from the same seat.