THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Ranchi, May 13: Jharkhand bucked the trend of low voter turnout, registering 63.14 per cent voting in four Lok Sabha constituencies-Khunti, Singhbhum, Palamu and Lohardaga on Monday.
The highest turnout was in Singhbhum parliamentary constituency at 66.11 per cent.
The lowest turnout was 59.99 per cent in the Palamu parliamentary constituency, while Khunti registered 65.82 per cent and Lohardaga 62.60 per cent.
Voting began amidst tight security at 7 a.m. on Monday for four Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand.
Key candidates in fray
Among the candidates whose fate has been sealed in the EVMs today are Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, MP B.D. Ram, Geeta Koda, Joba Manjhi, Sukhdeo Bhagat, Samir Oraon, Mamata Bhuiyan, and Kalicharan Munda.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar, who has been working tirelessly to motivate the voters, said that the fourth phase of voting remained peaceful.
The final voters’ turnout figure will be available only after midnight, he added.
Final voter turnout tally likely to cross 70 per cent
According to a rough estimate, the voter turnout is likely to cross 70 per cent as a large number of voters were queued up at several booths, particularly in Khunti, after 5 pm.
The CEO said six cases of violation of the model code of conduct were registered. Two cases of minor clashes have also been registered. Since the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct in the entire state, 57 cases of violation of the Model Code of Conduct have been registered so far.
He was addressing the media along with Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Dr Neha Arora at Nirvachan Sadan, Dhurwa on Monday.
