Around 65 percent voters exercised their franchise on Sunday in the first of the four-phase three-tier rural local bodies’ elections in Jharkhand held amid tight security and threats by Maoists, officials said.
Police said around 55,000 security personnel, including those of the paramilitary forces, Jharkhand Armed Police and Indian Reserve Battalion, among others, were deployed for the panchayat polls - the second since the state was formed in 2000 -— as Maoist guerrillas had put up posters and banners threatening both candidates and voters.
Polling was held at 15,522 polling stations in 78 of the 264 blocks in the State from 7 a.m. till 3 p.m., an official said.
A total of 36,967 candidates, including 19,884 women, are in the fray for 18,472 posts in the zila parishads and panchayat samitis and as heads of panchayats and gram panchayat members. -IANS
