Jharkhand records 67.95% voter turnout in 3 Lok Sabha seats

Ranchi: A voter turnout of 67.95 per cent was recorded in three Lok Sabha constituencies in Jharkhand, where voting took place in the seventh and final phase on Saturday, officials said.

Polling began at 7 am in Dumka, Rajmahal and Godda, and continued till 5 pm.

The Dumka seat registered the highest polling at 69.89 per cent, followed by Godda (67.24 per cent) and Rajmahal (66.98 per cent), they said.

A total of 52 candidates, including eight women, are contesting in this phase, the state's fourth. Nineteen nominees each are competing in Dumka and Godda, while 14 are contesting in Rajmahal.

Around 53.23 lakh electors were eligible to cast their votes in the 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 people are first-time voters in the 18-19 age group, while 439 are aged over 100 years.

Parts of the three constituencies saw rains, bringing much-needed respite to voters from the sweltering heat, the officials said.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said preparations were in place to ensure free and fair polls, including sealing the borders with neighbouring Bihar and West Bengal, where elections are taking place as well.

Arrangements were made to transport elderly citizens and persons with disabilities (PwDs) to and from the polling booths, he said.Of the 6,258 total booths, 5,769 are in rural areas. A total of 241 booths are managed by women, 11 by youths and seven by PwDs.

All eyes are on the Dumka seat where BJP's Sita Soren, sister-in-law of jailed former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, is contesting against INDIA bloc's Nalin Soren.

Sita, a former three-term JMM legislator, joined the BJP just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, citing "neglect" and "isolation" by JMM after the death of her husband Durga Soren in 2009.

In Godda, BJP sitting MP Nishikant Dubey is contesting against INDIA bloc's Pradip Yadav.

The Rajmahal seat is expected to witness an interesting fight as JMM's Borio legislator Lobin Hembrom is contesting as an Independent against sitting JMM MP Vijay Hansdak. The BJP has fielded its former state president Tala Marandi from the seat.

Dubey cast his vote along with his wife and two sons, and claimed that the BJP was going to win more than 400 seats in the country.

He also exuded confidence of winning the seat by a record margin.

Assembly Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto also exercised his franchise at a booth in Patanpur in Jamtara district.