2nd phase of ULB polls witnesses over 57% turnout

A total of 14 ward councillors, out of the total 1,529 posts, have been elected unopposed, while the counting of votes will be conducted on December 30

PATNA: The second round of elections in 1,529 wards of 135 urban local bodies (ULBs) across 23 districts passed off peacefully on Wednesday with stray reports of scuffle between the rival groups, bogus voting and malfunctioning of electronic voting machines, said the state election commissioner (SEC) Deepak Prasad.

Bihar minister Tej Pratap Yadav after casting his vote during the urban local body polls in Patna on Wednesday. (Santosh Kumar/HT Photo)

“Overall voters’ turnout was around 57.17%, which is almost the same that was recorded for ULB elections in the area last time (in 2017). Women, however, outnumbered their male counterparts in exercising their franchise. Around 59.62% women electors cast their votes against 54.72% men of the total 61,94,826 electorates,” said Prasad while interacting with the media after the elections.

The SEC said supporters of two groups had clashed with one another in Nalanda’s Patel Nagar area.

Superintendent of police(SP) Nalanda Ashok Mishra said the situation was brought under control and elections were carried out.

In Katihar, the polling had to be conducted under mobile light for around 15 minutes as the power supply went off. The police had to reportedly wield lathis to disperse the unruly crowd, which sought to disrupt polling in Saran’s Marsarkh area,” said an official monitoring the polls.

“As many as 265 persons have been arrested on the charges of creating disturbances during the polling and around 60 vehicles have been seized by the police. A sum of ₹17,000 in cash was also recovered,” said Prasad, adding that Kahagaria witnessed the maximum turnout of electors (68.39%) while Patna witnessed the lowest (39.17%) till the time of filing this report.

As many as 11,127 candidates are in the fray for 1,665 posts, including 68 each of chief and deputy chief councillors. A total of 14 ward councillors, out of the total 1,529 posts, have been elected unopposed, while the counting of votes will be done on December 30 and the results would be declared in the evening.

The ULBs, where polling was done today, includes 17 municipal corporations (including Patna municipal corporation), 68 municipalities, 2 nagar parishads, and 48 nagar panchayats.

The SEC said that all the EVMs had been kept in strong rooms after sealing them digitally. “Any bid to tamper with the EVMs would set the alarm to all the concerned persons, including the candidates. The votes will be counted electronically to ward off any dispute in the count, which will conclude in 11 rounds,” Prasad said.