RANCHI: The long-awaited municipal election date in Jharkhand has finally been announced, following a prolonged battle in the Jharkhand High Court.
State Election Commissioner Alka Tiwari on Tuesday announced that voting will be held on February 23, while counting of votes being scheduled for February 27.
“With the declaration of the election schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force in Ranchi and other concerned municipal areas,” said the State Election Commissioner.
She also informed that the entire election process will be completed by the end of February. Voting in all 48 constituencies will be held on the same day, and the voting will be conducted using ballot papers.
Voting will take place from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The nomination period is from January 29 to February 4.
Scrutiny of nominations will be conducted on February 5. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is February 6. Candidates will then be allotted election symbols on February 7.
Notably, the announcement comes following firm observations and orders by the Jharkhand High Court, which had repeatedly expressed concern over the delay in conducting municipal elections and directed the state authorities to ensure that democratic processes at the urban local body level are restored without further delay.
The last municipal polls were held in 2018.
Since then, elected municipal bodies have remained absent, with legal disputes, particularly over reservation issues, stalling the polls for several years.
In such a situation, instead of public representatives, the administration of Municipal bodies is being looked after by the Municipal Commissioner, Additional Municipal Commissioner and other officials.
The State Election Commissioner, talking to the media persons at the office of the State Election Commission, appealed to the people to actively participate in what she described as the “festival of democracy.”
She urged voters to turn out in large numbers on February 23.
According to the Election Commissioner, the total number of voters stands at 4,323,574, of whom 2,116,227 are women.
The state has a total of 48 urban local bodies, including 9 municipal corporations and 19 Nagar Panchayats (town councils).