The Phase-I of Jharkhand’s Assembly elections held on November 13, 2024, recorded a voter turnout of 65.71% by 8 p.m. The Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll in Kerala saw a turnout of 64.72%.
Among the 31 Assembly bypolls, Channapatna in Karnataka posted the highest turnout at 88.80%, while Raipur City South in Chhattisgarh had the lowest at 46.43%.
In Jharkhand, 43 out of 81 constituencies went to the polls in this phase, with the remaining to vote on November 20. The fate of 683 candidates was sealed as 1.37 crore voters participated. The seats contested included 17 general, six for Scheduled Castes, and 20 for Scheduled Tribes. Key contests included Seraikella, Ranchi, Jamshedpur West, Jaganathpur, and Jamshedpur East, with notable candidates like former CM Champai Soren and Congress’s Ajoy Kumar vying for seats.
Lohardaga district recorded the highest turnout in Jharkhand with 73.21%, while Hazaribag recorded the lowest at 59.13%.In related news, the Election Commission suspended Rajasthan cadre IPS officer Kishan Sahay Meena for dereliction of duty after he was found returning to Rajasthan without permission during his posting in Jharkhand for election duties.
In Kerala, the Wayanad by-election, triggered by Rahul Gandhi’s vacating of the seat, saw Priyanka Vadra (Congress) contesting against BJP’s Navya Haridas and CPI’s Sathyan Mokeri. The election was marred by technical issues, including EVM malfunctions.
Meanwhile, in West Bengal, where bypolls were held in six constituencies, the average voter turnout was 69.29%. The Taldangra constituency saw the highest turnout at 75.20%. However, the region was rocked by violence, with a Trinamool Congress worker killed near the Naihati constituency.
Across other states, voter turnout ranged widely, with Ramgarh (Rajasthan) and Vijaypur (Madhya Pradesh) seeing high turnouts of 75.27%, while Bihar’s Tarari and Imamganj recorded lower participation rates at around 50%.
