UP bypolls: Amid violence in Muzaffarnagar, 31.21% voter turnout recorded till 1 pm
Amid reports of minor violence, polling in nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh is progressing peacefully with around 31.21% voter turnout till 1 pm.
The counting of votes for 81 Jharkhand Assembly seats began at 8 am on Monday in all the 24 district headquarters amid tight security.
41 is the majority mark in the 81-seat house.
Jharkhand went to elections from November 30 in five phases, with the second, third, fourth and fifth phases concluding on December 7, 12, 16 and 20 respectively.
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The exit polls have predicted that the state elections are likely to throw up a hung Assembly, where either Babulal Marandi-led Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) or All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), could emerge as king-makers.
The BJP ran the government in alliance with the AJSU. However, the two contested the Assembly elections separately.
Majority of the the exit polls have predicted an edge for the pre-poll alliance of Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
In the five-phased Jharkhand Assembly polls, BJP was harping on national issues, including the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that has sparked major unrest across the country.
The JMM-Congress-RJD combine, on the other hand, focussed on local issues and economic slowdown.
The BJP is predicted to face a similar fate as in Maharashtra and Haryana.
Over 64 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first phase of Jharkhand polls in 13 Assembly constituencies, which fall in the Maoist-hit districts.
The state recorded 63.44 per cent vote, five per cent lowest than in 2014, in 20 Assembly seats amid few incidents of violence in which one person was killed in the second phase of the Assembly election.
The state recorded around 62 per cent voting for 17 seats which went to the polls in the third phase of Assembly polls.
Over 62 per cent voting was recorded in the fourth and penultimate phase of the polls, covering 15 seats.
Around 71 per cent voting was recorded in the fifth and final phase of polling for 16 Assembly constituencies.
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