Ranchi: In the Naxal-hit 13 constituencies of Jharkhand, people came out in large numbers to vote and the queues seen outside the polling booths had a good number of elderly and women voters.
The first phase of Jharkhand elections was a key test for security forces. Even though 1,752 booths were declared hyper-sensitive and 1,104 as sensitive, the region that is close to Maoist-dominated Chhattisgarh forests successfully sailed through the rough electoral waters. Now, the major challenge for the security forces will be to safely transport EVMs to strongrooms. All the EVMs are expected to reach strongrooms by Wednesday evening.
Barring a few minor incidents of violence, the polling day was peaceful. Tuesday's turnout has redefined voter rights in the struggle for peace in Naxal-hit areas. Even the minimum voter turnout in Tuesday's polling, recorded 53.85 per cent in Chatra, was more than the expectations of the EC. Bhawnathpur recorded maximum polling percentage at 69.60.
In rest of the constituencies, Gumla recorded 58 per cent polling, Bishunpur 59 per cent, Lohardaga 63 per cent, Manika 58 per cent, Latehar 60 per cent, Panki 63 per cent, Daltonganj 65.27 per cent, Bishrampur 62 per cent, Chattarpur 60 per cent, Hussainabad 67.30 per cent and Garhwa 64.28 per cent.
If we look at the Lok Sabha figures for this region, Palamu recorded 59.41 per cent voting, Chatra 54.37 per cent and Lohardaga 58.32 per cent in early 2014. Voters have defied poll boycott calls of Maoists in both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
The high turnout amidst the Modi wave favoured the BJP in LS polls. It will be interesting to see if this polling trend favours BJP in Assembly polls too.
The major political parties have claimed that these figures will have ramifications on the state politics.
In his first political reaction after Tuesday's polls, Congress state chief Sukhdeo Bhagat said the trends show every section of the society has preferred Congress to other parties. Bhagat is a candidate from Lohardaga seat that has witnessed 63 per cent voting. "In the 13 seats, Congress fielded 7 candidates and position of the party is strong in all these constituencies," he added.
AJSU's state president Kamal Kishor Bhagat who is supported by the BJP in Lohardaga thanked the voters for the overwhelming response to elections and claimed that he would be victorious once again.
BJP general secretary Bhupendra Yadav said people came out in large numbers to vote for change as they want to see a BJP government in the state. "Seeing the enthusiasm among voters and a high turnout, the party is confident of winning 10 seats in phase one," he added.
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