Ranchi: A total of 43,43,295 voters registered in Jharkhand are scheduled to cast their ballots at 4,307 booths set up in 2,134 polling stations on Monday to decide the fate of 562 mayoral candidates and 5,562 ward councillors in the fray for 1,087 wards under 48 urban local bodies (ULBs). Around 50,000 personnel, including magistrates, polling staff, and police, would be deployed, the Jharkhand State Election Commission (JSEC) said.Of the 48 ULBs, nine are municipal corporations, 20 municipal councils, and 19 nagar parishads. A total of 641 candidates have filed their nominations for mayoral posts, of which 31 were cancelled and 48 withdrawn. Another 6,123 candidates filed nominations for councillor posts. Of these, 191 forms were cancelled, 322 withdrew their candidature, and 41 won uncontested, it added.
JSEC secretary Radheshyam Prasad said, “A total of 896 booths were categorised as highly sensitive, 2,448 as sensitive, and 963 as general. The categorisation was done on the basis of past history of violence, dominant nature of candidates, presence of weaker sections of society in booths, political causes, and others. Each booth would have a presiding officer, four polling staff, besides sector magistrates, magistrates, and others.”The Dhanbad municipal corporation (DMC) has 169 highly sensitive booths, the highest in state, followed by the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) with 128 booths, and the Giridih Municipal Corporation comes third with 96. The DMC has 647 sensitive booths, the highest in state, the RMC had 510, while the Medininagar Municipal Corporation, the Hazaribag Municipal Corporation, and the Mango Municipal Corporation have 105 each, he added.“Polling parties, along with over 50,000 security personnel and magistrates, were dispatched to their designated locations on Sunday. CCTV cameras have not been installed as adequate security personnel have been deployed. All booths have been equipped with like ramps, wheelchairs and other necessary arrangements to make the voting process smooth for the differently abled,” Prasad said.In the state capital, Ranchi deputy commissioner-cum-district election officer Manjunath Bhajantri inspected the pre-poll process at the Birsa Munda Football Stadium. Ranchi has set up 909 polling stations for 53 wards under the Ranchi Municipal Corporation and 16 polling stations for the Bundu Nagar Panchayat.Inspector general (operations) and Jharkhand Police spokesperson Michael Raj said, “Around 7,000 home guards and 30 echo companies, each unit comprising 80 personnel, have been provided to the districts. The district police would use 30 per cent of its existing strength for the polls.”Ranchi superintendent of police (Rural) Praveen Pushkar said, “Around 3,500 police personnel would be deployed on poll duty across the district. Two super zones and six zones have been created for the RMC and the Bundu Nagar Panchayat elections. These zones would be led by DSP-rank officers.”A total of 100 sector magistrates have been deployed for the RMC and the Bundu Nagar panchayat elections. Patrolling by magistrates was underway, Ranchi district officials said.The announcement for ULB elections was made on January 27.
