Jharkhand Panchayat Polls: There are 27,343 candidates in the 3rd stage of nationwide polls. (Representative)
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More than 70 percent of 46.94 lakh voters cast their ballots on Tuesday in the third of Jharkhand’s four-stage panchayat elections, an official said.
A total of 1,047 panchayats in 19 districts went to the polls to elect 6,370 panchayat members, 1,043 mukhiyas, 1,165 panchayat committee representatives and 126 Zilla Parishad members.
In total, 5,950 candidates have already been elected unopposed at this stage, the official said. The votes will be counted on May 31.
“The polls passed peacefully in 12,912 booths in 70 blocks of the state. Overall, 70.54 percent of voter turnout was recorded,” State Election Commission (SEC) secretary Radhe Shyam Prasad told PTI.
Panchayat elections are not held on party lines in Jharkhand.
There are 27,343 candidates in the third phase of the national polls.
Deoghar district registered the highest turnout at 79.18 percent, while Simdega recorded the lowest at 64.62 percent.
Meanwhile, two improvised explosive devices (IED) were recovered by CRPF just 150 meters away from a voting booth in the Dulki area below Manatu Police Station in Palamu district.
In another incident in the same area of the police station, a voter was killed and about 24 others were injured after a pickup truck belonging to them carrying them overturned, police said.
Panchayat polls in the state will be held in four phases in the state, with the final round scheduled for May 27. The first and second phases of the polls were held on 14 and 17 May.
The counting of votes for the second phase of the polls, which began on May 22, is still ongoing, while the first round was completed.
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