RANCHI: Hazaribagh constituency recorded the highest voter turnout among the three Lok Sabha seats that went to polls in the second round of polling in Jharkhand on Monday. Interestingly, the constituency managed this record with a whole village boycotting the elections. The residents of Kusumbha village under Katkamdag Block stayed away from polling booths as a way of protest against their unfulfilled demands.
According to the villagers, they have been demanding a flyover near Banadag Coal Sliding, a demand that has not been fulfilled so far.
Therefore, nearly 2000 voters decided not to turn up for the elections at booth numbers 183 and 184, of the Kusumbha village. There are 979 voters under booth number 183 and 920 voters under booth number 184. As the voting started at 7 in the morning, the villagers confined themselves to their houses. Despite repeated requests made by the authorities, they refused to come out to vote.
Senior officials who were notified of the turn of events reached the village and tried to convince the villagers to cast their votes, but in vain. Villagers remained firm on their stand and reiterated that they would not vote until their demands are met.
Not a single vote was cast at these two polling booths and the election officials had to return empty-handed after a long day of silence.
The residents of Kusumbha village have been requesting the NTPC for an overbridge for more than eight months. The NTPC, however, began the construction of an underpass, which the villagers find unsuitable for accessing drinking water, essential goods, medical services, and other day-to-day requirements.
“We have been demanding an overbridge from NTPC for the last 6-8 months but they are building an underpass due to which we are boycotting the elections. The Deputy Commissioner who came here today requesting the villagers to cast their vote did not intervene in the matter when we had raised it. Had she intervened earlier, this situation would not have arisen,” said Vickey Kumar Yadav, a resident of Kusumbha village.
Another villager, Sita Ram Yadav, said that what they want is an overbridge and not a hole under the existing road. She further asserted that the village will not cast their votes till their demand is met.
Hazaribagh Deputy Commissioner Nancy Sahay pointed out that the villagers stood their ground despite several efforts from the authorities to convince them.
“They were protesting against the unfulfilled demand of an over bridge near their village. We tried our best to convince them to vote, but the villagers were firm on their stance, stating that they would vote only if their demand for the bridge is met,” said the DC.
During the fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls, voting took place for three Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand which includes Chatra, Hazaribagh and Koderma. Chatra saw a voter turnout of 60.26%, Koderma recorded 61.60% voting whereas Hazaribagh saw the highest turnout with 63.66%.
In this phase, 22 candidates are vying for the Chatra seat, 15 are competing in Koderma, and 17 are contesting in Hazaribagh.