Ranchi, July 1 (IANS) Around 50 percent voting was recorded Friday in the bypoll for the Jamshedpur Lok Sabha seat in Jharkhand, an Election Commission official said.

‘Around 50 percent of the total 20 lakh voters turned out to cast their votes. The bypoll was by and large peaceful,’ the official said.

The counting will take place Monday.

The bypoll was necessitated after Chief Minister Arjun Munda quit to join the state assembly in February.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had fielded state president Dineshwanand Goswami.
Munda campaigned for nearly one week in the constituency.

The two ruling alliance partners – Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and All Jharkhand Students’ Union (AJSU) – fielded Sudhir Mahto and Astik Mahto respectively.