Ranchi, Dec 18 (Inditop.com) The fifth and final phase of the Jharkhand assembly elections saw a 28 to 30 percent turnout till noon Friday, an election commission official said. Voting began on a violent note as one security official was killed and two others were injured in a landmine blast and a school was blown up by Maoist guerrillas.
The highest polling, of 37 percent, has been reported in Chaibasa assembly constituency.
“One security official was killed and two were injured around 6.30 a.m. when Maoist rebels detonated a landmine near Mahur village in Palamau district,” Jharkhand police spokesperson V.H. Deshmukh told Inditop.
In another incident, a government high school under Gomia police station in Bokaro district was blasted late Thursday. Seven rooms of the school were damaged in the blast. Polling concluded in Gomia Dec 8.
In the fifth and last phase of polls, voting began at 7 a.m. for 16 of the 81 assembly seats. In this phase, a total of 290 candidates are in the fray.
Around 75,000 security forces, including paramilitary forces, have been deployed to ensure peaceful polling. Six helicopters are also being used for air surveillance. The 16 constituencies where voting is taking place are Chatra, Latehar, Simaria, Panki, Bishrampur, Hussainabad, Chhatarpur, Garwah, Bhavnathpur, Manika, Chaibasa, Barkatha, Jagannathpur, Sareikella, Kharsawan and Daltonganj.
The key candidates in the last phase include jailed ex-minister Kamlesh Singh, another ex-minister facing graft charges Bhanu Pratap Sahi, and Geeta Koda, wife of former state chief minister Madhu Koda.
Counting of votes will take place Dec 23.
