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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Vote for people power

Vote for people power

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published Published on Nov 28, 2010   modified Modified on Nov 28, 2010

Jharkhand embarked on its first panchayat polls in three decades on an encouraging note today, recording an impressive turnout in defiance of a few determined efforts by Maoist groups to disrupt the process at various places.

Voters queued up from early morning, helping the state to notch up a poll percentage of 64.7 per cent with chief minister Arjun Munda’s home district of Seraikela-Kharsawan recording the highest turnout of 79 per cent, followed by Dhanbad district at 72.5 per cent.

Hazaribagh, that never logged more than 58 per cent, recorded a turnout of more than 62 per cent. The lowest turnout of 47 per cent was recorded at Khunti and Sahebganj districts.

Ecstatic at the high overall turnout in the first phase of elections today, Munda congratulated the people of Jharkhand, especially women. “We have succeeded to begin the panchayat polls on a right note. The Centre has provided us with sufficient security forces and we are confident of completing the process peacefully,” he said.

Turnouts in several Maoist strongholds was high. For instance, in Potka and Musabani blocks of East Singhbhum district, voting percentage was 74 and 63 per cent respectively, despite a boycott call.

In Palamau, police foiled a Maoist attempt to blow up vehicles transporting polling officials at Pandu and Munshikhab villages. In Gumla, security persons fired two rounds in the air near Padgacha Primary School to disperse a group of anti-socials trying to encourage voters to boycott the elections.

Palamau SP Anoop T. Mathew said a police team recovered two bombs which had been planted on roads of Pandu and Munshikhab in Pandu block. “The bomb at Pandu weighed 40kg, while the other one weighed around 20kg,” he told The Telegraph.

Mathew’s Gumla counterpart Narendra Kumar Singh said apart from the Padgacha incident, there was no untoward event in the district. “Despite initial hiccups in Padgacha, the polling percentage was as high as 80,” he said.

In Maoist-affected Arki of Khunti district, nine booths under Barhinijikel panchayat reported zero polling as voters did not turn up. Confirming this, SP Manoj Kaushik said, “We are yet to find out why voters did not turn up, though fear of Maoists could be behind it.”

“Re-polling will be held in these booths of Arki block later,” said state election commissioner S.D. Sharma, who appeared happy with the huge voter turnout.

In the Kolhan region, polling was by and large peaceful, barring a few incidents of violence. The Maoists’ call for a poll boycott did not work at Potka and Musabani blocks of East Singhbhum, Chandil and Nimdih blocks of Seraikela-Kharsawan district.

As many as 13,368 gram panchayats in 77 blocks across Jharkhand went to polls today, the first of the five-phased rural polls. A total of 51,433 nominees of four posts — member (gram panchayat), mukhiya (gram panchayat), member (panchayat samiti),


The Telegraph, 28 November, 2010, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101128/jsp/frontpage/story_13230741.jsp


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