Ranchi: Voting for 43 assembly seats in Jharkhand began on Wednesday, with 683 candidates, including former Chief Minister Champai Soren and ex-MP Geeta Kora, vying for positions. The polling opened at 7 a.m. across 15 districts and will proceed until 5 p.m., though booths with 950 voters will close by 4 p.m. Those in line by the deadline will still be allowed to vote, as confirmed by officials.
The ruling JMM-led coalition is focused on retaining power through initiatives like the Maiyan Samman Yojna. The BJP, on the other hand, has campaigned aggressively, emphasizing Hindutva and alleging corruption in the current government. Top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, have held rallies to criticize the JMM coalition, while opposition figures from the INDIA bloc, such as Congress’s Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge, have countered by highlighting the ruling alliance’s welfare achievements. They also accused the BJP-led central government of using agencies like the ED, CBI, and I-T department to target opposition members.
The 43 seats contested include 17 general seats, 20 reserved for scheduled tribes, and 6 for scheduled castes, with 1.37 crore eligible voters and 15,344 polling stations. Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar confirmed that all voting arrangements are in place, and poll staff were at their stations by early morning. Notably, women are managing the voting process at 1,152 polling stations, with 24 booths run by individuals with disabilities. Mock polling exercises began at 5:30 a.m.
In preparation for a fair election, authorities have seized illegal assets worth Rs 208.78 crore and filed 58 cases of code violations, with Garhwa district seeing the highest instances. Key contests in this phase include BJP’s Champai Soren competing against JMM’s Ganesh Mahli in Seraikela, BJP’s Geeta Kora challenging Congress’s Sona Ram Sinku in Jagannathpur, and Congress veteran Rameshwar Oraon facing AJSU’s Shanti Bhagat in Lohardaga.
This election’s first phase will be followed by a second round of voting on November 20, with results expected on November 23. In the 2019 elections, the JMM coalition secured a majority with 47 seats, forming a stable government. Voting is also underway in Wayanad, Kerala, and across 33 bypoll seats in 11 states, including major contests in Rajasthan, West Bengal, and Assam, with Maharashtra assembly elections scheduled for November 20.
