Friday, February 18 2005 10:02 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Ranchi/Patna: Re-polling in 28 booths, spread across 10 constituencies, began this morning (Feb 18, 2005), election office sources said in Ranchi.

The re-polling is necessitated by reasons like defective Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), delay in polling or damage to the machines by anti-socials.

Khirjri Assembly constituency has the maximum number of 10 booths followed by Hatia (6), Mandar (4), Silli (2) and 1 booth each in Ranchi, Sesai, Ghatsila, Chaibasa, Manoharpur and Chakradharpur.

Two phases of polling for the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly had been completed with the third phase scheduled for February 23.

While elections for 24 constituencies were held in the first phase, the second phase witnessed polling for 29 seats.

The counting would be taken up on February 27.

Re-poll also began this morning in 261 booths spread over 14 districts where elections were held in the second phase on Tuesday (Feb 15, 2005).

Tight security arrangements have been made for the re-poll in these booths.

The Election Commission has ordered re-poll in 43 booths in Saharsa district, 40 in Darbhanga, 36 in Madhubani, 27 in Supaul, 26 in Shekhpura, 22 in Katihar, 20 in Samastipur, 19 in Araria, 9 in Munger, 6 in Purnea, 4 each in Madhepura and Begusarai, 3 in Khagaria and two in Kishanganj districts following complaints of large scale electoral irregularities.

Polling also begins amid tight security, this morning in Bahera, Jale and Ghanshyampur Assembly constituencies in Bihar's Darbhanga district.

The polls in these three constituencies were rescheduled by the Election Commission from February 15 to today due to inadequate security arrangements.

The Election Commission also ordered re-poll in 262 polling stations in 14 districts of the State today following reports of excess percentage of polling and malfunctioning of EVMs during the second phase of Assembly elections on February 15.

Long queues of voters were seen before several booths as the polling started.

Thirty-two companies of the para-military forces have been deployed in bahera, Jale and Ghanshyampur constituencies, where 606 polling centres were declared super-sensitive.

While Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) State president and senior Minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui is locked in a triangular fight with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee Mahendra Jha Azad and Yugeshwar Sahni of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) in Bahera, former Bihar Minister and RJD leader Mahavir Prasad is pitted against Vijay Shankar Choudhury alias Bhola Choudhury and Izhaar Ahmed (LJP) in Ghanshyampur.

BJP MLA Vijay Kumar Mishra is locking horns with Ramnivas Prasad of RJD and Abdus Salam of Communist Party of India (CPI) in Jale.