Jamshedpur:
The East Singhbhum district administration has initiated the poll process for the forthcoming by-election to the Ghatsila assembly constituency, which fell vacant following the demise of sitting JMM MLA and Jharkhand Education Minister Ramdas Soren on August 14 at a Delhi hospital.
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Addressing a press conference at the district collectorate auditorium on Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer Karn Satyarthi said the integrated draft electoral roll has been published. Claims and objections can be filed till September 17, while their disposal will take place on September 25. The final electoral roll will be published on September 29.
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Satyarthi informed that the rationalisation of polling stations was completed on August 28. A total of 300 polling stations have been set up for the proposed by-poll, compared to 291 during the last assembly election.
Due to dilapidated conditions, four polling stations have been shifted:
Polling Station 51 → Panchayat Bhawan, Gopalpur
Polling Station 110 → Primary School, Dubrajpur
Polling Station 119 → Government Primary School, Mahtam
Polling Station 131 → Upgraded Government High School, Sunderdih (Room No. 2)
Additionally, nine new polling centres have been created to reduce voter pressure in centres with more than 1,200 electors — four in Ghatsila, three in Musabani, and one each in Dhalbhumgarh and Ghorabandha. These have been set up in the same or nearby buildings within the same villages.
The constituency presently has 2,51,367 registered voters, including 1,28,050 women. The number is expected to rise with the inclusion of new voters.
The by-election was necessitated after the death of Ramdas Soren, who was also the JMM district president. He had been airlifted to Delhi in critical condition after collapsing in the washroom of his Ghorabandha residence, and passed away on August 14 during treatment