In a setback to opposition NDA in State, JMM candidate Bebi Devi won the Dumri bypoll defeating AJSU Party nominee Yashoda Devi by 17,153 votes.
Beby Devi the JMM candidate, who is also the INDIA bloc nominee, secured 1,00,317 votes while NDA candidate Yashoda Devi bagged 83,164 votes after 24 rounds of counting votes. The victory of the JMM candidate assumes importance for not only INDIA bloc candidates, but Bebi Devi also retained the seat which fell vacant due to the untimely death of her husband Jagannath Mahto.
Giridih deputy commissioner-cum-district election officer Naman Priyesh Lakra said, "The counting of votes passed off peacefully. JMM's Bebi Devi won the election with a margin of 17,153 votes."
The election was held on September 5 and counting of votes was held today at Krishi bazar Samiti premises. Four other candidates in the fray, Abdul Mobin Rizvi of AIMIM, Roshan Lal Turi and Narayan Giri, all independents forfeited their deposits.
In 24 rounds counting, AJSU candidate Yashoda Devi took the lead in the first round but Baby Devi took the lead of 300 votes in second round of counting. However from 3rd round Yashoda Devi again re-established her lead and maintained till 14th round of counting.
However, in the 15th round Baby Devi bounced back with a lead of 300 votes and increased the margin in each round till the last ( 24th round).
The results declared from the total number of rounds of counting of votes as follows Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM): Baby Devi: 1,00,317 votes, All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU): Yashoda Devi: 83,164 votes, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM): Abdul Mobin Rizvi: 3,472 votes, Independent: Roshan Lal Turi: 1,898 votes, Independent: Kamal Prasad Sahu: 0,713 votes, Independent: Narayan Giri: 0,612 votes.
A total of 3650 votes have been used in NOTA (none of these). The total polled number was 1,93,902. In which valid voting were 1,93,826 and the number of canceled voting were 76. Finally District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Kuldeep Chowdhary declared that Model Code of Conduct (MCC) ended in the district with the completion of counting of votes.
During the counting an adequate number of magistrates, police officers and security forces were deployed.
The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of JMM leader and former education minister Jagannath Mahato earlier this year. hief Minister Hemant Soren, who conducted numerous rallies, including a notable road show, urged the electorate to support the INDIA bloc candidate. He emphasized that casting votes for the INDIA candidate would serve as a genuine tribute to Mahto.
During his campaign rallies, Soren highlighted Jagarnath Mahto's significant contributions to the development of the constituency.
On the other hand, NDA leaders made rigorous efforts to secure their candidate's triumph in Dumri. Prominent BJP figures, including two Union ministers, Arjun Munda and Annapurna Devi, as well as two former chief ministers, Babulal Marandi (who also serves as the BJP state president) and Raghubar Das, alongside others, actively campaigned to ensure the NDA candidate's victory.
