High stakes battle between NDA & INDIA Bloc as Jharkhand gears up for final phase of voting tomorrow

Ranchi, Nov 19 Polling parties have been dispatched across 38 constituencies in 12 districts of Jharkhand for the second and final phase of Assembly elections, scheduled for Wednesday, November 20. The polling party teams left on Tuesday via buses, trains, and smaller vehicles.

Before they departed from Ranchi, folk artists performed songs and dances to encourage the polling officials, who then ceremonially bid farewell with tilak as a mark of respect for their role in the democratic process.

According to State Chief Electoral Officer K. Ravi Kumar, 14,218 polling stations have been set up for this phase, and all polling parties are expected to reach their destinations by Tuesday evening. Vehicles transporting polling officials are being tracked in real-time through GPS, and any deviations from the designated route are monitored from a centralised control room.

All security arrangements have been put in place, with 585 companies of central paramilitary forces, 60 companies of Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP), and 30,000 personnel from the district force and home guards deployed to ensure smooth conduct of the elections, he said.

Voting will commence at 7 a.m. on Wednesday. While most polling stations will remain open until 5 p.m., 31 highly sensitive booths will close an hour earlier at 4 p.m.

Of the total polling stations, 2,414 are in urban areas, and 11,804 are in rural locations. Special arrangements have been made at some polling stations, including 48 unique booths, 239 booths operated entirely by women, 22 managed by disabled personnel, and 26 run by youth.

The entire voting process will be monitored through webcasting, with cameras installed at all centres.

This phase covers constituencies in three divisions -- 18 each in Santhal Pargana and North Chotanagpur, and two in South Chotanagpur.

Among the seats, eight are reserved for Scheduled Tribes, three for Scheduled Castes, and 27 are general category seats. A total of 528 candidates are contesting in this phase, and their fate will be decided by 1.23 crore voters.

Mandu in Hazaribagh district is the largest constituency in terms of area, while Jharia in Dhanbad district is the smallest. Bokaro has the highest number of voters, with 5,82,101 registered, while Littipara in Santhal Pargana has the lowest voter count, with 2,17,388 voters.

Prominent candidates in this phase include Chief Minister Hemant Soren contesting from Barhait as a JMM candidate, BJP state president and Jharkhand’s first Chief Minister Babulal Marandi from Dhanwar, and Assembly Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato representing JMM from Nala.

Other notable figures are Congress’ Deepika Pandey Singh from Mahagama, Irfan Ansari from Jamtara, and AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto from Silli.

Tight security and meticulous preparations have been made to ensure a peaceful and fair voting process.

Source: IANS