Jharkhand: BJP 'rebel' wins mayor's post in Dhanbad, civic polls counting ends

Ranchi, Mar 1 (PTI) BJP 'rebel' Sanjeev Singh won the mayor's post for the Dhanbad Municipal Corporation in Jharkhand, while the saffron party-backed candidate finished fourth in the civic polls, an official said on Sunday.

The counting of votes for all 48 urban local bodies (ULBs) in the state, which had started on Friday morning, concluded after the declaration of DMC results on Saturday night, he said.

The civic polls were not contested on the symbols of the political parties, but candidates are backed by these outfits.

"Elected members of the civic bodies will now choose deputy mayor or vice chairperson of their respective ULBs between March 10 and March 20. They will also take an oath during the period," State Election Commission Secretary Radhe Shyam Prasad told PTI.

In the Ranchi Municipal Corporation, the oath-taking ceremony and election of deputy mayor will take place on March 19, while the same for DMC is scheduled on March 18, he said.

Former BJP MLA Sanjeev Singh, who contested the poll without party support, defeated his nearest JMM-backed rival Chandrasekhar Agarwal by 31,902 votes.

Singh got a total of 1,14,362 votes, while Agarwal received 83,460. BJP-backed Sanjiv Kumar secured only 57,895 votes and became the fourth. The former legislator said he would be working for the development of Dhanbad.

Dhanbad MLA Raj Sinha said the BJP-backed candidate was new in the election.

"There was confusion among voters as Singh has been in the BJP and her wife (Ragini Singh) is the party MLA from Jharia," he said.

In the Chas Municipal Corporation in Bokaro district, independent candidate Bholu Paswan won the mayor's post by securing 17,796 votes. He defeated the BJP-backed candidate Avinash Kumar by 3,196 votes.

The independent candidates, who were not supported by any political parties, made their mark by winning 20 posts of mayor or chairperson in 48 ULBs.

Thirteen BJP-backed candidates won the posts of mayor or chairperson, while 11 candidates, supported by the JMM and three by the Congress, secured the top posts across nine municipal corporations, 20 nagar parishads and 19 nagar panchayats.

The civic elections were held on February 23, with over 63 per cent of the total 43 lakh voters exercising their franchise. PTI SAN BDC