Ranchi, May 17 (PTI) Over 40 per cent of the 12,648 seats were decided uncontested in the second phase of panchayat polls in Jharkhand, election officials said on Tuesday.
In 5,093 seats, which is 40.26 per cent of 12,648, there was only one candidate each after the deadline for withdrawal and rejection of nomination papers, they said.
In the second phase, a total of 29,049 candidates had filed nominations for 12,648 posts — 10,614 panchayat members, 872 mukhiyas, 1,059 panchayat committee members and 103 zilla parishad members.
After the withdrawal and rejection of nominations, there were 26,965 candidates in the fray in 50 blocks across 16 districts.
Among the seats decided uncontested are 4,975 panchayat member posts, six mukhiya posts, 111 panchayat samiti member posts and one zilla parishad member post, officials said.
Now, 21,872 candidates will fight the polls for 7,029 seats — 5,123 panchayat members, 866 mukhiyas, 938 panchayat committee members and 102 zilla parishad members, according to the data provided by the State Election Commission.
A total of 872 panchayats will go to the polls on May 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 22, officials said.
More than 38.82 lakh voters, including 18.92 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise at 10,614 polling booths in the second phase polls.
A total of 4,451 polling stations have been declared sensitive, while 3,700 are hyper-sensitive.
Meanwhile, the counting of votes for 1,127 panchayats that went to the polls in the first phase is underway since 8 am in 21 districts amid tight security, officials said.
The first of the four-phase panchayat polls took place on May 14. Over 68 per cent of the 52 lakh voters exercised their franchise.
Barring a few complaints, the counting is going peacefully across the districts, officials said.
In Chatra College counting centre, candidates created an uproar, alleging that ballot papers of booth 66 were tampered with. Chatra District Election Officer (DEO) Anjali Yadav said they were looking into the allegation.
In Ranchi, the counting is going on at Pandra Bazar under vigilance of the district administration.
In the first phase, elections were scheduled to be held for 16,757 posts — 14,079 panchayat members, 1,127 mukhiyas, 1,405 panchayat samiti members and 146 zilla parishad members.
A total of 6,231 seats, 37.18 per cent, were decided uncontested. PTI SAN CORR SAN SOM SOM
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Source: The Print
