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Election – A total of 41 ward councillors have secured victory without contest ahead of the upcoming urban local body elections in Jharkhand, according to officials from the State Election Commission. The civic polls, which will cover 48 urban local bodies across the state, are scheduled for February 23, with vote counting set for February 27.

Uncontested Wins and Vacant Wards

Officials confirmed that 41 candidates were declared elected after being the sole nominees in their respective wards. With no rival candidates filing papers, these individuals were formally recognized as councillors.

However, three wards will not see any representation this time. Authorities stated that no nominations were submitted for Ward 5 and Ward 11 in Domchanch Nagar Panchayat in Koderma district, as well as Ward 22 in Mango Municipal Corporation in Jamshedpur. As a result, these seats remain vacant.

Radhe Shyam Prasad, Secretary of the State Election Commission, shared these details on Wednesday, noting that the uncontested results were finalized following the completion of the nomination and withdrawal process.

Scope of the Civic Elections

The elections will determine representatives for 48 mayoral or chairperson positions and councillors across 1,087 wards. These seats are spread among nine municipal corporations, 20 nagar parishads, and 19 nagar panchayats.

The nomination process began on January 29 and concluded on February 4. Candidates were given time to withdraw their nominations until February 6, after which the final list of contestants was prepared.

For the top posts of mayor or chairperson, 562 candidates are competing, including 235 women. Meanwhile, 5,569 individuals are contesting for ward councillor positions, with women accounting for 2,727 of the candidates. Officials said the participation of women remains significant in this election cycle.

Voter Participation and Polling Arrangements

More than 4.33 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots in the upcoming elections. Of these, approximately 2.12 million are women voters. Election authorities have completed preparations to facilitate smooth polling across the state’s urban areas.

To manage the voting process, 4,304 polling stations have been established. Security assessments have categorized 896 booths as hyper-sensitive and 2,445 as sensitive, prompting additional arrangements to ensure law and order during polling.

Non-Party Based Electoral Process

Urban local body elections in Jharkhand are conducted without official party symbols on ballot papers. While candidates may receive backing from political organizations, they contest as independent individuals. This system, officials say, is intended to keep local governance focused on civic issues rather than party affiliations.

With several councillors already elected and preparations in place for the remaining seats, authorities are now focused on ensuring peaceful voting and timely counting of ballots later this month.