Jharkhand: Brisk voting in Maoist-affected areas despite call to boycott polls

NEW DELHI: Unfazed by threats and boycott calls from Maoists, people in Left Wing Extremism-affected areas in Jharkhand turned out in impressive numbers to vote on Wednesday even as the overall polling percentage in the state surpassed the 63.9 per cent recorded in the 2019 assembly elections, according to the Election Commission.

Voting was held in 43 assembly seats out of 81 in the first phase and the rest of the seats will go to polls on November 20.

“Polling was marked by a festive mood and enthusiastic participation across all districts, with large tribal population, including areas affected by Left Wing Extremism,” the poll authority said on Wednesday evening.

As per updates till 5 PM, a voter turnout of 64.86 per cent was recorded in Jharkhand which already surpassed the 63.9 per cent voting in these 43 assembly seats in the 2019 assembly elections.

The EC said voters remained undeterred by threats and boycott calls.

“In Budha Pahad area in Garhwa district, once considered a stronghold of extremists, long queues, and peaceful polling at Hesatu polling station signalled the deep penetration of democratic ethos.

“For the first time, this polling station was set up in the Budha Pahad area for the Lok Sabha elections 2024, allowing residents to vote in their own village,” it said.

The social media handles of EC were active throughout the day, highlighting voter participation.

Brisk voting was recorded in Maoist-affected areas in West Singhbhum district.

The Maoists had put up posters and banners at the gates of a polling station in Rabanga village in Manoharpur constituency, calling upon electors to boycott the polls, and also placed an object which was suspected to be a bomb, officials in the state said.

Voting was delayed by half-an-hour as police cordoned off the area and removed the banners and posters, along with the suspicious object as sniffer dogs and a bomb squad were deployed at the spot.

Despite the incident, hundreds of voters gathered at the polling centre from the morning to cast their votes Naxals blocked a road between Haathnaburu and Dikuponga villages in the Chotanagra police station area in Jagannathpur constituency with tree trunks, which were later removed by the police. They had also put up posters and banners at the spots, the officials said.

Tribal voters also participated enthusiastically. For the first time, voters of Lakhaidih village in Potka assembly seat in East Singhbhum district having 100 per cent tribal population voted at a polling station set up in their own village, the EC said.

Earlier, they had to travel to a nearby village to cast their vote which is nearly 25 km from the main road and 4 km away through dense forest and hilly route.

Ahead of the elections, 100 per cent enrolment of the nearly 1.78 lakh members from eight ‘particularly vulnerable tribal groups’ in the state was ensured in the electoral roll, it said.

Polling was on in certain polling stations where voters were waiting in queue before the culmination of poll hours, the EC said.

CEC Rajiv Kumar along with ECs Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu constantly monitored the situation across over 15,000 polling stations.

“Meticulous planning and constant vigil by the Commission have ensured that the Jharkhand elections this time have been smooth and streamlined, with no repolls recorded so far. Webcasting was in place in 100 per cent polling stations to ensure transparency of the voting process,” it noted.

Simultaneously, bypolls were also held on Wednesday in 31 assembly constituencies in 10 states and in the Wayanad parliamentary constituency of Kerala. Two assembly constituencies in Sikkim were uncontested, the poll authority said.