Jharkhand civic polls: BJP-backed nominees win in Ranchi, Medininagar; JMM wins Giridih, Deoghar

Ranchi: BJP-backed Roshni Khalkho on Friday won the mayoral post of Ranchi Municipal Corporation, while Congress-supported Sudha Gupta was elected mayor of the Mango Municipal Corporation in Jamshedpur.

Khalkho defeated her nearest Congress-backed rival Rama Khalkho by 14,363 votes. She secured 1,57,669 votes against Rama’s 1,43,306 in the contest, an official said.

“I thank the people of Ranchi for their love and support. I will leave no stone unturned for the city’s development,” Roshni told reporters after winning the election on Saturday.

Terming it a big win, she said although the election was not fought on party symbols, BJP leaders and workers were continuously engaged to ensure her victory.

A total of 11 candidates were in the fray for the mayor’s post. Results for all 53 ward councillors have also been declared.

In Mango Municipal Corporation, Congress-supported Sudha Gupta, wife of former Jharkhand health minister Banna Gupta, defeated BJP-backed Sandhya Singh by 18,602 votes.

In Hazaribag Municipal Corporation, journalist Arvind Rana won the mayoral post by defeating his nearest Congress-backed rival Sarfaraz by 4,657 votes.

Counting of votes for the polls to 48 urban local bodies (ULBs) in Jharkhand has been underway since Friday morning, State Election Commission Secretary Radhe Shyam Prasad said.

In Adityapur, BJP-supported Sanjay Sardar defeated JMM-backed Bhuglu Soren by 7,795 votes to be elected mayor.

In Medininagar in Palamu district, BJP-backed Aruna Shankar won the mayoral contest by defeating Congress-supported Namrata Tripathi by 3,122 votes, securing a second consecutive term. Shankar polled 24,169 votes, while Tripathi secured 21,047. JMM-backed Poonam Singh finished third with 12,809 votes.