Arvind Rana's Victory: A New Chapter for Hazaribag Municipal Leadership

Journalist Arvind Rana won the mayoral seat in Hazaribag's civic polls, defeating his Congress-backed rival Sarfarz. The elections saw high participation, with over 63% of voters turning out. Despite not using party symbols, candidates were supported by various political factions. The counting will conclude on Saturday.

In an unexpected turn of events, Arvind Rana, a prominent journalist affiliated with a Hindi newspaper, secured a decisive victory in the race for mayor of Hazaribag Municipal Corporation. Rana triumphed over Congress-backed contender Sarfarz, as electoral results were unveiled on Friday.

Meanwhile, in Ranchi, the BJP-endorsed candidate Roshni Khalkho held a substantial lead of 13,511 votes over Congress's Rama Khalkho after initial counting rounds. The vote tallying for the 48 urban local bodies in Jharkhand commenced on Friday morning and is projected to extend into Saturday.

The election process, which witnessed over 63 percent voter turnout among an electorate of 43 lakh, saw candidates vie for mayor and chairperson posts in 1,042 wards. Notably, the elections were conducted without party symbols, though political affiliations played a significant role in candidate endorsements.