Elections LIVE | 58% turnout in Maharashtra, 67% in Jharkhand till 5 pm

Till 5 pm, Jharkhand (phase-II) and Maharashtra recorded 67.59% and 58.22% voter turnout respectively, as per Election Commission of India.

Jharkhand BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has filed a complaint with the Election Commission against a presiding officer for allegedly “favouring a ruling party candidate” in Madhupur Assembly constituency during voting.

Dubey claimed that following his complaint, the officer was arrested.

“I filed a complaint with the Election Commission against the presiding officer at booth number 111 in Madhupur, Deoghar district, for favouring Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidate and Minister Hafizul Hassan. The commission took my complaint seriously and arrested the officer,” Dubey told reporters in Deoghar.

However, the Deoghar administration said the officer, identified as Ramanand Kumar Paswan, was replaced after being found too close to the voting compartment, which is against Election Commission rules.

An official statement from Deoghar administration clarified that the presiding officer at booth number 111 had been replaced. The returning officer has been instructed to conduct a thorough investigation and take legal action, if necessary, it added.

Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Neha Arora said an FIR has been lodged against the presiding officer.

Deoghar SP Ambar Lakra said, “A probe has been initiated in this regard and action will be based on the investigation report,” Lakra told PTI.

The JMM alleged that the officer was removed following a baseless complaint.

Meanwhile, the presiding officer Pramod Kumar at booth number 338 in Gandey assembly constituency was replaced and an FIR was lodged against him for violating secrecy to vote, Arora said.

Kalpana Soren, wife of chief minister Hemant Soren, is contesting from Gandey assembly seat, while BJP has fielded Muniya Devi from the constituency.

A fierce political faceoff erupted Wednesday between the ruling BJP and main opposition Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh amid the ongoing by-elections to nine assembly seats with both parties accusing each other of foul play.

While the SP alleged the BJP was manipulating the electoral process and questioning the role of the Election Commission, the BJP claimed SP workers are engaging in hooliganism and bogus voting with women and men donning burqa.

At a presser in Lucknow, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav accused the BJP of misusing the administrative machinery to secure a win in the bypolls “through manipulation”.

Yadav claimed his party had lodged complaints with the Election Commission (EC) regarding “irregularities” in multiple constituencies, including Karhal, Sisamau, Meerapur, Kundarki, Phulpur, and Majhawan.

Despite these complaints, Yadav alleged that the EC was turning a blind eye to the issues.

“The BJP wants to win these bypolls not through votes, but through manipulation,” the former chief minister claimed and added that the ruling party was “pressuring the administration to act unfairly” and prevent opposition supporters from voting.

“I urge voters to go to polling booths... and stay there until they have cast their vote. This is a right granted to us, and everyone must exercise it,” he added.

Yadav further slammed the BJP over “violation” of the EC’s guidelines on checking voter IDs and for obstructing people from casting their ballots.

Earlier in the day, the EC ordered the suspension of police personnel found violating these guidelines after Yadav presented video evidence showing voters being harassed and blocked from voting.

Yadav alleged that the BJP was preventing many people who intended to vote for opposition parties from casting their ballots to make up for a lack of enthusiasm among their own supporters.

In a counterattack, BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary accused Samajwadi Party workers of engaging in hooliganism during the by-elections.

He claimed that SP supporters were attempting to influence the polls by bringing in outsiders and anti-social elements, alleging that women wearing burqas were participating in bogus voting.

“The red-capped goons of Akhilesh Yadav, who gave the slogan of ‘PDA’ (pichhde, Dalit, and alpsankhyak), are trying to spread terror,” Chaudhary charged during a presser in Lucknow.

Chaudhary also slammed the SP for demanding that police not check voters’ identification cards, accusing them of using fake IDs to manipulate the election process.

“Fake voting has become the trademark of the Samajwadi Party,” he stated, emphasizing the importance of ID checks to maintain the transparency of the elections.

According to EC data, a voter turnout of nearly 42 per cent was recorded by 3 pm across the nine seats, with polling scheduled to close at 5 pm.