Summary:
Ranchi, Jun 23 (PTI) Altogether 61.25 per cent of about 3.5 lakh voters exercised their franchise in the by-election to the Mandar assembly seat in Jharkhand"s Ranchi district on Thursday, an election official said.
In 2019, the overall polling percentage in the constituency was 67.88 per cent.
District election officer-cum-deputy commissioner (DC) Chhavi Ranjan said, "The election passed off peacefully with no report of violence or law and order situation appearing from any part of the constituency," he said.
As reports of glitches in a few EVMs were reported during the mock poll and polling, four ballot units, six control units and eight VVPATS were replaced, the DC said.
Votes will be counted on June 26.
The by-election was necessitated after the disqualification of Bandhu Tirkey as an MLA in the wake of his conviction in a corruption case.
A special CBI court in Jharkhand had on March 28 sentenced Tirkey, a former minister in the state government, to three years in jail.
The Congress has fielded his daughter, Shilpi Neha Tirkey, as the common candidate of the ruling JMM-led coalition, while the BJP has nominated former legislator Gangotri Kujur from the seat.
The Congress and the RJD are the two other constituents of the ruling alliance in Jharkhand.
Independent candidate Dev Kumar Dhan, backed by Asaduddin Owaisi"s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), is also in the fray.
In 2019, the BJP had fielded Dhan for the Mandar assembly seat after denying a ticket to its sitting legislator Kujur.
Dhan lost to JVM-P’s Bandhu Tirkey by more than 23,000 votes.
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