Bengaluru: Neither biting cold nor the threats issued by Maoists deterred the citizens of Jharkhand as the state voted in the fourth phase of elections today (December 16). 

As many as 15 seats went for polling today. 

According to the Election Commission data, 62.46 per cent turnout was witnessed in this phase with the highest polling — 75.50 per cent — reported from Chandankyari constituency.

It must be noted that there was rain on Sunday. The weather was cloudy this morning too. Yet the spirits of the people were high as they dared to exercise their franchise. 

What was touching was how an old and debilitated woman was carried on a cot and brought to the booth to facilitate her voting. 

Voting started at 7 am and ended at 3 pm on five seats - Bagodar, Jamua, Giridih, Dumri and Tundi - in Maoist-affected areas while in the remaining constituencies, it ended at 5 pm. 

Prominent candidates who were in the race in the fourth phase included Labour Minister Raj Paliwar, Tourism Development Minister Amar Kumar Bauri, Ragni Singh, the wife of a sitting MLA who is in jail on charges of murder, and Raj Kishore Mahto of the AJSU.

A total of 47,81,422 voters were eligible to cast their votes in 6,101 booths, out of which 4,296 were in the rural areas.

In Maoist-affected areas, 587 booths were marked "very sensitive" and 405 "sensitive" while in the non-Maoist areas, 546 booths were "very sensitive" and 2,665 were "sensitive", as reported by News 18. 

Jharkhand has a five-phase election going on, with the last phase on December 20. The results will be announced on December 23. For the BJP, the results will have a specific impact in that the PM

Modi-led centre has scrapped articles 370 and 35A and decided to create a bill to get in Hindu and non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The BJP did not do very well in Haryana and Maharashtra elections.