74% Voter Turnout Recorded In Jharkhand's Ghatshila By-Election

Jamshedpur: Nearly 74 per cent of the 2.56 lakh voters exercised their franchise in the by-election to the Ghatshila assembly seat in Jharkhand at the official close of polling at 5 pm on Tuesday, an official said.

The polling percentage in the Ghatshila seat in the 2024 assembly elections was 76.4 per cent.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said, "The voting passed off peacefully in all 300 polling stations across the constituency, and a 73.88 per cent turnout was recorded till 5 pm. The final turnout is likely to increase." He said that no untoward incident was reported from any place during the day, excluding two allegations of model code of conduct (MCC) violation.

"As many as four cases of MCC violations were registered so far in the Ghatshila bypoll," he added.

The votes will be counted on November 14.

The election result, however, will not have any major impact on the government, as the JMM-led ruling alliance currently has 55 MLAs in the 81-member state assembly, while the BJP-headed NDA has 24.

Though there have been 13 candidates in the fray, the main contest is likely to be between Somesh Chandra Soren of the JMM and the BJP's Babulal Soren, son of former chief minister Champai Soren.

Somesh Chandra is the son of JMM MLA Ramdas Soren, whose death on August 15 necessitated the by-poll.

Both the ruling JMM and the opposition BJP asserted that their candidates will win the by-election.

State BJP president Babulal Marandi said, "The high turnout clearly reflects people's discontent with the Hemant Soren government's false promises. The JMM, which considered the Ghatshila seat its stronghold, appeared nervous during the voting." Marandi claimed that the result would be surprising for many.

The former CM alleged that in the initial hours, JMM workers attempted to intimidate voters but their efforts failed, thanks to the vigilance of BJP workers and the strict supervision of the Election Commission.

Accusing the administration of supporting the JMM candidate, he claimed that one of their supporters, Dashmath Tuddu, was detained in the morning at Dhalbhumgarh police station in Ghatshila.

Dhalbhumgarh Police Station Officer-in-Charge, Manoj Kumar Gupta told PTI that an FIR was lodged against Tuddu for violation of the model code of conduct and has been detained at the police station.

State BJP working president Aditya Sahu claimed that the people vowed to teach the state government a lesson for its alleged anti-tribal approach, rampant corruption and deteriorating law and order situation.

On the other hand, JMM spokesperson Vinod Pandey claimed: "The electors rejected those who make false promises, indulge in communal politics and spread confusion. They have stamped their approval on development, public trust, and the policies of the Hemant Soren government." He claimed that the state government has done "historic work" in Ghatshila and the surrounding areas on roads, education, health, irrigation, and employment for tribal youth.

JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya claimed that the people of Ghatshila have decided to pay tributes to 'Dishom Guru' (leader of the land) Shibu Soren, and former education minister Ramdas Soren by defeating the BJP.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)