LIVE: Jharkhand | 64.86% voter turnout; Wayanad sees big drop
Over 1.37 crore voters cast their ballots in Jharkhand, with 6 Cabinet ministers among the 683 candidates
A voter turnout of 64.86 per cent was recorded (till 5 pm) in the 43 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand where polling was held in the first phase on Wednesday.
Lohardaga district topped the list with 73.21 per cent polling while Hazaribag district recorded the lowest at 59.13.
The poll percentage in other districts were Seraikela--Kharsawan (72.19), Gumla (69.01), Simdega (68.66), Khunti (68.36), Garhwa (67.35), Latehar (67.16), West Singhbhum (66.87) , Ramgarh (66.32), East Singhbhum (64.87), Chatra (63.26), Palamu (62.62), Koderma (62), Ranchi (60.49) and Hazaribag (59.13).
Former CM Champai Soren and ex-MP Geeta Kora were among the 683 candidates in fray in the first phase.
1.37 crore voters overall
In all, 1.37 crore voters were eligible to participate in the first phase of voting. A total of 683 candidates — 609 men, 73 women and one third-gender candidate — are competing for 43 seats. These seats are divided into 17 general, 20 scheduled tribe, and 6 scheduled caste constituencies.
Key battles include former Chief Minister Champai Soren, who is contesting on a BJP ticket in Seraikela, facing JMM's Ganesh Mahli.
Geeta Kora, wife of former CM Madhu Koda, is contesting against Congress' Sona Ram Sinku in Jagannathpur.
Veteran Congress leader Rameshwar Oraon is up against AJSU's Shanti Bhagat in Lohardaga, while JD(U)'s Saryu Roy is facing Congress’ Banna Gupta in Jamshedpur (West).
The second phase of voting will take place on November 20, and counting is scheduled for November 23.
In Wayanad, poor turnout
The Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, where Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made her electoral debut, saw a voter turnout of around 65 per cent during the bypoll on Wednesday.
This was a decline from the close to 74 per cent turnout recorded in the polls held in April, when her brother and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi contested from the hill constituency. Read the full report here.
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Live Updates
- 13 Nov 2024 8:54 AM GMT
Karnataka bypolls: Over 45% voter turnout in 3 Assembly segments till 1.30 pm
While Channapatna recorded 48.15 per cent voter turnout, it was 43.5 per cent in Shiggaon, and 43.46 per cent in Sandur. - 13 Nov 2024 4:57 AM GMT
10.14% voting till 9 am in three Assembly segments of Karnataka
An estimated overall 10.14 per cent voter turnout was recorded during the first two hours, since the voting began for by-polls to three Assembly segments in Karnataka on Wednesday, election officials said.
The voting began at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm.
More than seven lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in about 770 polling stations in Shiggaon, Sandur and Channapatna, where a total of 45 candidates are in the fray.
While Channapatna recorded 10.34 per cent voter turnout till 9 am, it was 10.08 per cent in Shiggaon, and 9.99 per cent in Sandur, election officials said.
Voters, including women and elderly were seen queuing up in front of polling booths in these segments.
By-polls for Sandur, Shiggaon, and Channapatna are necessitated, as the seats fell vacant following the election of their respective representatives -- E Tukaram of Congress, former CM Basavaraj Bommai of BJP, and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S) -- to Lok Sabha in May elections.
As many as 31 candidates are in the fray from Channapatna, while Sandur and Shiggaon have six and eight contenders, respectively.
