In the first phase of the Jharkhand assembly elections, the 13 constituencies recorded 62.87% voter turnout, said reports.
The polling was started at sharp 7 in the morning and ended at 3 pm following the risk in Naxal-hit areas. Among all 13 constituencies, Bhawanathpur recorded 53.13 % voting which was the highest among all.
While rest 12 constituencies saw Bishunpur (41.39%), Lohardaga (48.72%), Manika (45.17%), Latehar (52.14%), Panki (45.20%), Daltonganj (45.40%), Bishrampur (45.80%), Chattarpur (47.40%), Hussainabad (46.80%) and Garhwa (46.32%) voting.
Inthe state, Raghubar Das-BJP is taking on Shibu Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morch(JMM), Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) and Congress alliance.
For phase 1 polling, BJP's Ramchandra Chandravanshi, who is also Health Minister in the Raghubar Das government, was among the key candidates. He contested from the Bishrampur seat, while Congress's state chief Rameshwar Oraon competed from the Lohardaga constituency. He was challenged by former state Congress chief Sukhdeo Bhagat who recently switched to BJP.
Reportssaid Bishnupur in the Gumla district was blown up allegedly by Naxals todayduring the voting process. Talking to the media, the Deputy Commissionerof Police Shashi Ranjan informed that no person got injured in the blast and itdidn't affect the polling.
Incidentsof violence were also reported from some other parts of the state. PalamauDeputy Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer Shantanu Agrahari briefed the mediaabout minor incidents of clashes between political party cadres near Kosiyarapolling station in Daltonganj.
Reportssaid some agitators also broke window panes of a police vehicle after Congresscandidate KN Tripathi allegedly tried to enter the polling booth with arms.
