Jharkhand to hold civic polls on Feb 23, counting on Feb 27: SEC

Ranchi: The Jharkhand State Election Commission (SEC) on Tuesday announced that civic polls to 48 urban local bodies in the state, including Ranchi, will be held on February 23.

The counting of votes will take place on February 27.

“The voting for the civic polls to 48 urban local bodies in the state will be held in a single phase on February 23,” State Election Commissioner Alka Tiwari said while issuing a notification in this regard.

The nomination process will start on January 29 and will continue till February 4, she said.

The nominations will be scrutinised on February 5, while candidates can withdraw their names till February 6. The symbols will be allotted on February 7, she said.

Over 43.33 lakh voters, including 21.26 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the elections to 1,087 wards in nine municipal corporations, 20 nagar parishads and 19 nagar panchayats.

“The elections for the mayor or chairman posts, and ward councillors will be held directly, while the deputy mayors and vice chairmen will be elected indirectly,” Tiwari said.

ULB polls in Jharkhand are not contested on the electoral symbols of the political parties, but candidates are backed by the outfits.

In 2018, the ULB elections for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor of municipal corporations, and chairman and vice chairman of municipal councils, were held on party lines.

After coming to power in 2019, the Hemant Soren government changed the rules and decided to conduct the ULB polls on a non-party basis.

The Congress, a constituent of the JMM-led ruling alliance, and the main opposition BJP had demanded that the government hold the elections on a party basis.