One person was killed when the police opened fire near a polling booth in the second phase of polling for the Jharkhand Assembly election on Saturday. An estimated 63.44% of the voters cast their ballots in 20 constituencies, a drop of 5% from the 2014 turnout.
Chief Electoral Officer Vinay Choubey said the voting was peaceful, except for three incidents of violence, including two attacks by left-wing extremists.
A villager was killed and two others were injured after the police opened fire to break up a mob at a polling booth in Sisai. “When the voting started at Badhni in Gumla district, a skirmish broke out between Rapid Action Force personnel and the villagers. Taking advantage of the situation, some criminals tried to snatch weapons from the security men, who fired in self-defence,” Mr. Choubey said.
The left-wing extremists resorted to violence in Chaibasa and Khunti districts. Booth 84 in Chaibasa was declared affected by left-wing extremism, and it had to be relocated. The bus used for transporting the voters to the relocated booth was set on fire at an isolated place.
Extremists ambushed a polling party returning to base in the Tamar constituency. Security men retaliated, forcing the militants to retreat. According to latest reports, security personnel had dominated the area.
Mr. Choubey said: “Across all Assembly segments, except Sisai, there has approximately been a 5% drop in polling. Once booth-wise details are analysed, the reason for the drop will become clear.”
In 2014, these 20 seats recorded a 68.01% turnout.
The urban conglomerate of Jamshedpur recorded a poor turnout. While 50.67% polling was recorded in Jamshedpur East, the turnout was 47.42% in Jamshedpur West.
Voters decided the fate of Chief Minister Raghubar Das and his Cabinet colleague, Neelkanth Singh Munda, in this phase.
Speaker Dinesh Oraon, former Minister Saryu Rai, who took on the Chief Minister in Jamshedpur East, and BJP State president Laxman Giluwa were also in the fray.
