Jamshedpur, September 29: The East Singhbhum administration has completed ground preparations for the upcoming by-election in the Ghatsila Assembly constituency, which fell vacant after the demise of sitting JMM legislator and former minister Ramdas Soren.
The Election Commission is expected to announce the poll schedule shortly, with voting likely to coincide with the Bihar Assembly elections.
According to District Election Officer Karna Satyarthi, a special voter revision exercise launched on July 1 has brought 4,456 new names into the rolls. With this, the electorate in Ghatsila has risen to 2.55 lakh — comprising 1.24 lakh men, 1.30 lakh women, and three third-gender voters.
Meanwhile, Chief Electoral Officer K. Ravi Kumar informed that the draft roll published earlier this month listed 2.51 lakh voters. “After verification, 1,585 male and 2,871 female voters have been added,” he noted.
He further said that the constituency will now have 300 polling stations spread across 218 locations.
Moreover, due to Ghatsila’s history of left-wing extremism, the district administration has sought 10 companies of CRPF for peaceful polling. “Though no incidents have been reported recently, sensitive booths will remain under close surveillance,” Satyarthi said.
Being a rural constituency, the recent rains have left many internal roads damaged. Officials said voters will not be required to travel more than two kilometres to reach their designated booths.
The final rolls have been published at polling stations and election offices, and copies handed to recognised political parties.
Notably, the Election Commission is mandated to complete the by-election within six months of the vacancy.
