Elections to Jharkhand’s 81-member state legislative assembly commenced on Wednesday, November 13, with polling in 43 seats. The Simdega seat had the highest voter turnout (15.09%), followed by Ranchi (12.06%) and Seraikela-Kharsawan (14.62%). Until 9 a.m. on Wednesday, over 13.04 percent of voters had turned out in 43 assembly seats.
The Simdega seat had the highest voter turnout (15.09%), followed by Ranchi (12.06%) and Seraikela-Kharsawan (14.62%).
The 43 constituencies have 17 general seats, 20 reserved for Scheduled Tribes, and six for Scheduled Castes. The remaining 38 seats will be decided in phase two polling on November 20.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has made elaborate security arrangements as 950 polling booths have been identified as “sensitive” across 31 constituencies. The mock poll began at 5.30am, with regular polling set to begin at 7am and continue till 5pm. The voting will end at 4pm at “sensitive” booths.
In the first phase, 638 candidates, including 73 women, will compete for 43 seats. In the last assembly election, Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha won 30 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 25, and the Congress won 16. Following the last Assembly elections, a combination of the JMM, Congress, and RJD established the administration, with Hemant Soren as chief minister.
“All polling locations include basic amenities such as drinking water, bathrooms, and webcasting facilities. Polling preparations are complete. Security and CAPF personnel have been stationed at voting sites. Utkarsh Kumar, the Returning Officer for the Ranchi Assembly seat, stated that all Election Commission norms and procedures are being observed.
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Source: HT
