Defying boycott calls given by Maoists, about 65 per cent of the electorate cast their vote in the second phase of polling in Jharkhand on Tuesday.
Of the 20 constituencies that went to the polls, 70 per cent are in the Maoist-affected areas.
Long queues of voters, including women and the youth, could be seen at various polling stations, especially in Maoist-affected constituencies.
In the first phase of elections on November 25, too, the State witnessed an impressive turnout of 62 per cent voters.
Over 44 lakh voters decided the fate of 223 candidates in the fray, including former chief ministers Arjun Munda and Madhu Koda.
The electoral fate of three Jharkhand Ministers — Banna Gupta and Geetasri Oraon of the Congress and Champai Soren of the JMM — were also sealed.
Barring a few cases of defective EVM machines at some places, polling was by and large incident-free, poll officials said.
Tuesday’s turnout was an improvement from the 58.26 per cent recorded in 2009. The Election Commission seized Rs. 1,12,83,479 in cash, 1.27 lakh litre liquor worth Rs. 1.03 crore and drugs worth Rs. 10.24 lakh.
