Chief Electoral Officer K. Ravi Kumar has said that the fifth phase of elections has been conducted peacefully. Polling personnel have started returning from polling stations to deposit the EVMs in the strong room. He said that the estimated voting percentage in the three parliamentary constituencies was 63. Out of that, the highest estimated 64.32 per cent voting took place in Hazaribagh.
In Chatra the voting percentage was 62.96, whereas, the lowest 61.86 per cent voting took place in Koderma parliamentary constituency. On the other hand, the vote percentage in Gandey Assembly by-election was 68.26. He told that this figure is till 5 pm. At some places the voting process was continuing even after 5 pm. After the number of postal ballots etc. is added, the vote percentage will increase slightly. He was holding a joint press conference with State Police Chief Electoral Officer and Nodal Officer AV Homkar at Nirvachan Sadan, Dhurva on Monday.
The Chief Electoral Officer said that during voting, seven cases of model code of conduct violations have been registered in seven districts belonging to the three parliamentary constituencies. Of these, 2 FIRs have been lodged in Palamu, 2 in Latehar, 2 in Hazaribagh and one in Giridih. He said that out of 244 candidates contesting elections in the state, 66 have criminal cases registered against them.
State Police Nodal Officer AV Homkar said that a total of 44 thousand personnel of paramilitary forces and Jharkhand Police were deployed for peaceful voting in three parliamentary constituencies. Since the borders of the three Lok Sabha constituencies are connected to the three states of West Bengal, Bihar and Chhattisgarh, constant vigil was maintained on the border in coordination with the respective states. Naxalite activities were completely disrupted and people were encouraged to vote in a fear-free environment. He said that even during the return of the polling party, tight security arrangements have been made. Senior police officers remain in the field.
