By IANS
Ranchi : A meagre 45 percent turnout was witnessed in the by and large peaceful by-election to the Jamshedpur Lok Sabha seat Wednesday.
Official sources said some 1,000 voters could not exercise their franchise after they found their names missing from the voters’ list.
Air Force helicopters were pressed into service to ensure a free and fair election, which became necessary following the killing of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Sunil Mahto in March by Maoist rebels.
Suman Mahto, widow of the slain MP, contested the seat on the JMM ticket.
The main fight was between JMM and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP candidate is Dinesh Sarangi.
JMM has banked on sympathy votes to retain the seat while the acquittal of former central minister and party chief Shibu Soren came as an additional boost to the prospects of its candidate.
Soren, who was released from Dumka central jail Saturday, campaigned in favour of JMM candidate and addressed several rallies.
JMM has used the pictures of slain MP and Soren on banners and hoardings to garner sympathy votes.
Chief Minister Madhu Koda and other United Progressive Alliance (UPA) leaders have also campaigned in favour of the JMM candidate.
On the other hand, infighting within the BJP was cause for concern for the party. While the BJP fielded Sarangi, a legislator from Jamshedpur, Shailendra Mahto, who had joined the BJP after leaving JMM, was hoping for the ticket.
Denied the ticket, Shailendra later came out against the BJP and started campaigning for JMM.
The other candidates in the fray were Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Salkhan Murmu, who led the domiciliary movement, and Bikash Mukherjee, who fought on the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) ticket. He is mainly banking on Bengali votes, which constitute around ten percent of the electorate in the area.