Jharkhand: 11.74% voter turnout in 4 Lok Sabha seats till 9 am

Ranchi: Nearly 11.74 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 9 am in four Lok Sabha constituencies in Jharkhand that went to polls in the sixth phase on Saturday, officials said.

Voting began at 7 am in Giridih, Dhanbad, Ranchi and Jamshedpur seats, and will continue till 5 pm.

Giridih registered the highest polling at 12.91 per cent followed by Ranchi (12.19 per cent), Dhanbad (11.75 per cent) and Jamshedpur (10.05 per cent).

Governor C P Radhakrishnan said in a post on X: “Today, I exercised my right to vote at Shri Krishna Institute of Public Administration, Ranchi. I urge all voters to exercise their right to vote. Ensure your participation in this great festival of democracy.” A total of 27 candidates are fighting the elections from Ranchi, 25 each from Dhanbad and Jamshedpur, and 16 from Giridih.

About 82.16 lakh voters are eligible to cast their ballots in these four constituencies, with Dhanbad having the highest number of voters at 22.85 lakh, and Giridih the lowest at 18.64 lakh.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said all 8,963 booths were being closely monitored.

Of these, 186 will be managed by women and 22 by the youth.

Additionally, there are 15 unique booths, showcasing the specialties of the respective areas.

About 36,000 poll personnel have been deployed in this phase, Kumar said.

In the Ranchi Lok Sabha seat, Congress's Yashaswini Sahay, daughter of former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay, is contesting against the BJP MP Sanjay Seth.

Dhanbad is witnessing a fight between BJP's Baghmara MLA Dulu Mahato and Congress's Anupama Singh, the wife of the party's Bermo legislator Kumar Jaimangal.

In Jamshedpur, BJP MP Bidyut Baran Mahato has been pitted against JMM's Baharagora MLA Samir Mohanty.

In Giridih, AJSU Party's Chandra Prakash Chaudhary is up against JMM's Tundi MLA Mathura Mahato. A student leader, Jairam Mahato, has added a twist to the contest by challenging candidates of both the INDIA bloc and the NDA.