Dumka: Sita Soren, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Jharkhand’s Dumka Lok Sabha seat, on Saturday alleged irregularities in the polling process and demanded re-poll in the constituency. BJP candidate and sister-in-law of jailed former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, Sita Soren claimed that the polling process was being deliberately delayed.
Sita said, “I visited many polling stations in Dumka urban area and found irregularities in the voting process there. I have informed the Deputy Commissioner in this regard.” She said that inexperienced booth level officers (BLOs) have been deployed there due to which voters are facing problems.
“This delay is being done deliberately. I will write a letter to the Election Commission asking them to cancel the voting here and hold a re-poll,” she alleged. Sita raised the issue after receiving complaints from voters about the delay in the voting process at booth numbers 44 and 45.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar refuted his allegations and said polling was going on smoothly in the three Lok Sabha constituencies – Dumka, Rajmahal and Godda. If the polling till 11 am is included, Dumka has recorded 29.24 per cent polling, Godda 29.39 per cent and Rajmahal 30.04 per cent, Kumar told PTI.
There are six assembly constituencies under Dumka Lok Sabha seat. Out of the six assembly constituencies, till 11 am, 30.12 percent voting has been done in Jama, 28.02 in Dumka, 26.41 in Jamtara, 30.62 in Nala, 30.31 in Sarath and 30.71 percent in Shikaripara.