<p>Altogether 44.81 per cent of 3.54 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 1 pm on Thursday in the by-election to Mandar assembly seat in Jharkhand's Ranchi district, an election official said.</p>.<p>Polling began at 7 am amid tight security arrangements and it will continue till 4 pm. Voting is underway peacefully and no untoward incident has been reported so far, Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar.</p>.<p>"We are monitoring the situation. CCTV cameras have been installed, besides webcasting facilities in sensitive booths. We are also getting information from zonal magistrates," he said.</p>.<p>Voting is taking place in 433 polling stations, with 141 booths having been declared hyper-sensitive, 218 as sensitive, and 55 as vulnerable.</p>.<p>BJP candidate Gangotri Kujur and Independent nominee Deo Kumar Dhan cast their votes. Congress candidate Shilpi Neha Turkey is a voter in Hatia constituency.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/north-and-central/sangrur-ls-bypolls-nearly-13-polling-in-first-3-hours-1120573.html" target="_blank">Sangrur LS bypolls: Nearly 13% polling in first 3 hours</a></strong></p>.<p>Over 3.54 lakh voters, including 1.75 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-election to decide the electoral fate of 14 candidates in the fray. The votes will be counted on June 26.</p>.<p>More than 3,000 security personnel, including Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP), CRPF, and SSB, have been deployed.</p>.<p>The by-election was necessitated after the disqualification of Bandhu Tirkey as an MLA in the wake of his conviction in a corruption case.</p>.<p>Congress has fielded Bandhu's daughter, Shilpa Neha Tirkey, as the common candidate of the JMM-led alliance, while BJP has nominated former legislator Gangotri Kujur from the seat.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/east-and-northeast/tripura-bypolls-cop-stabbed-tmc-candidate-attacked-1120582.html" target="_blank">Tripura bypolls: Cop stabbed, TMC candidate attacked</a></strong></p>.<p>An independent candidate Dev Kumar Dhan, with backing from Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), is also in the fray.</p>.<p>Chief Minister Hemant Soren tweeted, "Voting for Mandar assembly by-election is going on today. This is the fourth bypoll the state is witnessing in 2.5 years. I am sure that the people of Mandar will give priority to public welfare by defeating lies and arrogance in this by-election. The ideology of Jharkhandi and Jharkhandiyat will be further strengthened."</p>.<p>BJP national vice-president and former Chief Minister Raghubar Das in a Twitter post said, "There is a by-election to the Mandar assembly seat today. I appeal to all the voters of Mander to vote against familyism and corruption in large numbers and help win the BJP's development and good governance." </p>
<p>Altogether 44.81 per cent of 3.54 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 1 pm on Thursday in the by-election to Mandar assembly seat in Jharkhand's Ranchi district, an election official said.</p>.<p>Polling began at 7 am amid tight security arrangements and it will continue till 4 pm. Voting is underway peacefully and no untoward incident has been reported so far, Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar.</p>.<p>"We are monitoring the situation. CCTV cameras have been installed, besides webcasting facilities in sensitive booths. We are also getting information from zonal magistrates," he said.</p>.<p>Voting is taking place in 433 polling stations, with 141 booths having been declared hyper-sensitive, 218 as sensitive, and 55 as vulnerable.</p>.<p>BJP candidate Gangotri Kujur and Independent nominee Deo Kumar Dhan cast their votes. Congress candidate Shilpi Neha Turkey is a voter in Hatia constituency.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/north-and-central/sangrur-ls-bypolls-nearly-13-polling-in-first-3-hours-1120573.html" target="_blank">Sangrur LS bypolls: Nearly 13% polling in first 3 hours</a></strong></p>.<p>Over 3.54 lakh voters, including 1.75 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-election to decide the electoral fate of 14 candidates in the fray. The votes will be counted on June 26.</p>.<p>More than 3,000 security personnel, including Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP), CRPF, and SSB, have been deployed.</p>.<p>The by-election was necessitated after the disqualification of Bandhu Tirkey as an MLA in the wake of his conviction in a corruption case.</p>.<p>Congress has fielded Bandhu's daughter, Shilpa Neha Tirkey, as the common candidate of the JMM-led alliance, while BJP has nominated former legislator Gangotri Kujur from the seat.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/east-and-northeast/tripura-bypolls-cop-stabbed-tmc-candidate-attacked-1120582.html" target="_blank">Tripura bypolls: Cop stabbed, TMC candidate attacked</a></strong></p>.<p>An independent candidate Dev Kumar Dhan, with backing from Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), is also in the fray.</p>.<p>Chief Minister Hemant Soren tweeted, "Voting for Mandar assembly by-election is going on today. This is the fourth bypoll the state is witnessing in 2.5 years. I am sure that the people of Mandar will give priority to public welfare by defeating lies and arrogance in this by-election. The ideology of Jharkhandi and Jharkhandiyat will be further strengthened."</p>.<p>BJP national vice-president and former Chief Minister Raghubar Das in a Twitter post said, "There is a by-election to the Mandar assembly seat today. I appeal to all the voters of Mander to vote against familyism and corruption in large numbers and help win the BJP's development and good governance." </p>