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Jharkhand votes for third round of assembly polls, BJP candidate injured in violent scuffle

By FnF Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 09, Dec 2014, 13:32 pm IST | UPDATED: 09, Dec 2014, 13:35 pm IST

Jharkhand votes for third round of assembly polls, BJP candidate injured in violent scuffle Ranchi: Balloting began Tuesday in 17 of the 81 assembly constituencies in the third round of the five-phase elections in Jharkhand, officials said.

Over 50 lakh voters, including 23.5 lakh women, will decide the political fate of 289 candidates in the fray. Polling will take place in 5,865 polling booths.

Voting started at 7 a.m. and will end at 3 p.m. in 15 seats while balloting will continue till 5 p.m. in two constituencies.

Former chief minister Babulal Marandi, former assembly speaker C.P. Singh, Annapurna Devi of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Rajendra Prasad Singh of the Congress and Jai Prakash Bhai Patel of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha are among the prominent candidates in this phase.

Seven hours before polling began in Jharkhand, BJP candidate for Ichagarh assembly constituency in Saraikela-Kharsawa district Sadhu Charan Mahto was injured with eight other BJP workers in a violent scuffle between BJP and JVM-P workers at Chandil under Chandil police station in the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.

One BJP worker was also shot at during the scuffle and is hospitalized. Mahto and other were taken to the local hospital for treatment and were released later.

Kolhan DIG Md Nehal confirmed the incident: "The reason behind the incident is not known yet. A scuffle was reported between two groups during which firing also took place. More details will be known after investigation."

BJP candidate Mahto said over phone: "We were returning from door to door campaigning last night, when we were attacked. Eight workers have been injured and one was hit by a bullet fired by the goons in the campus of Chandil police station and policemen could not do anything."

BJP vice president Raghubar Das condemned the incident. "BJP leaders are being targeted during this election. There is no place of violence in democracy," he told TOI over phone.

Ichagarh is a sitting seat of JVM-P where outgoing MLA Arvind Kumar Singh is pitted against Sadhu Charan Mahto of BJP and Savita Mahto of JMM. A total of 24 candidates are in the fray in Ichagarh where BJP, JMM, JVM-P, Congress, Samajwadi Party and others have fielded candidates. In the Mahto-dominated seat, there is a triangular fight between JVM-P, JMM and BJP.

Meanwhile, 13 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise in the first two hours of polling in 17 constituencies spread across eight districts of Jharkhand.

Polling started at Ichagarh and 16 other assembly constituencies in the third phase of Jharkhand assembly election spread across Ranchi, Hazaribag, Chatra, Koderma, Saraikela, Ramgarh and Giridih at 7am on Tuesday.

While Koderma recorded the maximum 16.90 per cent voting in the first two hours, Barkagaon constituency witnessed the minimum at 7.60 per cent, polling officials said.

Some faulty EVMs were immediately replaced on receiving complaints from a few polling booths, they said.

Voters were seen standing in queues in front of the booths from 7am and were keeping themselves warm by lighting small fires by the roadside near booths.
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