52.23 percent voting for Jharkhand local bodies

Ranchi: A total of 52.23 per cent voting was recorded on Monday for seven municipal bodies and 31 Nagar Parishads in Jharkhand, an election official said. Jharkhand State Election Commissioner N.N. Pandey said the polling was by and large peaceful and was held between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. amid tight security. At a few places, there were reports of malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines. The voting percentage for the Ranchi Municipal Corporation was 49.3, compared with only 34.13 per cent last time. The higher turnout of voters was due to the fact that elections were held on party lines for the first time in the state. The Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and others have fielded candidates for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor.