Ranchi, February 23 – Sixty-two percent of the over 43 lakh voters in Jharkhand exercised their franchise in the civic polls for 48 urban local bodies on Monday, election officials said.
There were minor incidents of violence, including an incident where two people were injured, but the election passed off peacefully across the state.
Polling began at 7 am and concluded at 5 pm. Votes will be counted on February 27.
"We recorded 62 percent voter turnout. The polling has been peaceful," said State Election Commission (SEC) Secretary Radhe Shyam Prasad.
Seraikela Nagar Panchayat recorded the highest turnout of 74.86 percent, while Ranchi Municipal Corporation recorded the lowest at 43.35 percent, followed by Dhanbad Municipal Corporation at 46.98 percent.
Over 43 lakh voters were eligible to decide the fate of over 6,000 candidates.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his wife, Kalpana Soren, an MLA from Gandey assembly constituency, cast their votes at a booth in St Paul Kuldeep High School in Ranchi's Harmu area.
"Voting for local representatives is part of our democratic system. We exercised our franchise here," Soren told reporters after voting.
Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar cast his vote at a booth in Ranchi's ATI Building. "Voting is an important part of democracy. We should all vote. People have the right to choose their representatives. We should be interested in electing people who care about our area and the state, and who keep our neighborhoods clean," Gangwar told reporters.
Union Minister of State for Defence, Sanjay Seth, cast his vote at a booth in Kaju Bagan area of Ranchi.
State Election Commissioner (SEC) Alka Tiwari cast her vote at ward number 40 in Ranchi.
Long queues of voters, especially women, were seen at most polling stations since morning. However, in two major municipal corporation areas – Ranchi and Dhanbad – fewer electors had turned up to cast their votes.
There were reports of minor clashes and chaos in several parts of the state.
Supporters of two candidates clashed at a booth in Town police station area of Giridih district, which was brought under control by the police.
An incident of firing took place at ward number 18 in Azad Nagar area of the district, in which two people were injured.
"An incident of firing took place in Azad Nagar area, and two people received bullet injuries. However, the incident happened after polling ended at 5 pm. There were no disruptions during the polling process. We will investigate the incident and take action based on the facts," Giridih Deputy Commissioner Ram Niwas Yadav said.
A minor clash was reported at booth 32 in Chas Municipal Corporation area in Bokaro district, while in Ranchi, supporters of rival candidates clashed in Hindpiri area.
A voter, Rajesh Sinha, said he could not exercise his franchise as his name was not on the voter list.
"My booth was at Kairali School, Dhurwa. I was given a slip mentioning my name and room number outside the booth. As I entered the booth, the poll officials did not find my name in the actual voter list, although it was available on the election commission's website. I was not allowed to vote," Sinha told