Jharkhand Phase-1 polling, which began at 7 am today, recorded a voter turnout of 64.86% till 5 pm, according to the Election Commission of India.
The Phase-2 polling is slated to be held on November 20 alongside Maharashtra Assembly polls, with the results to be declared three days later.
On Wednesday, November 13, polling for Jharkhand’s 81-member state legislative assembly got underway in 43 assembly constituencies. As of 11 a.m. on Wednesday, 43 assembly constituencies had a voter turnout of nearly 29.31 percent. The highest voter turnout was recorded in the Khunti district (34.12%), followed by Gumla (33.86%), Lohardaga (33.44%), and Simdega (33.18%).
There are 17 general seats, 20 seats reserved for scheduled tribes, and 6 seats reserved for scheduled castes among the 43 constituencies. Phase two polling for the remaining 38 seats is scheduled for November 20.
Since 950 polling booths in 31 constituencies have been identified as “sensitive,” the Election Commission of India (ECI) has taken complex security measures. Regular polling is scheduled to start at 7 am and run until 5 pm, while the mock poll started at 5:30 am. The “sensitive” booths will close for voting at 4 p.m.
In the first phase, 638 candidates—73 of whom are women, are contesting for 43 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party won 25 seats, the Congress won 16, and Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha won 30 seats in the last assembly election. Following the most recent Assembly elections, Hemant Soren was appointed chief minister of a government formed by the JMM, Congress, and RJD.
“All basic facilities, including drinking water, toilets, and web-casting facilities, are available at all polling stations. All preparations are in place for polling. Security and CAPF deployed at polling stations. All rules and regulations laid down by the Election Commission are being followed,” said the returning officer for the Ranchi Assembly constituency, Utkarsh Kumar.
The BJP-led NDA made 25 promises in its election manifesto. The promise to “drive out infiltrators” entering the state from Bangladesh is one of them. In addition, the party pledged to protect tribal communities’ identities by enacting a Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) promised to give women in government jobs a 33% reservation and to prioritize nine areas, such as tribal rights, education, and agriculture. The Congress promised to fill all open government positions within a year, conduct a caste-based census, and provide 250 units of free electricity. Together with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and CPI (ML), both parties are members of the INDIA-bloc.
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