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New Delhi: Jharkhand will witness the first phase of Assembly elections on November 13, with polling scheduled across 43 constituencies. There are total 81 seats in Jharkhand and the rest will see voting seven days later along with all 288 seats of Maharashtra.
In the first phase, voting will be held on November 13 from 7 am to 5 pm. However, in 950 booths, the voting time will end at 4 pm, though people standing in the queue at that time will be able to vote.
In total, 15,344 polling stations have been set up across the state. Over 200 companies of security forces are deployed in strategic locations to maintain order and safeguard the electoral process. In this phase, 683 contenders, including 73 women, competed for seats.
The 43 constituencies include 17 general seats, 20 reserved for Scheduled Tribes, and six for Scheduled Castes. The tenure of the current Jharkhand Assembly is set to conclude on January 5, 2025.
Jharkhand Elections: Key Parties
In these elections, the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), part of the INDIA bloc, will compete against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The NDA includes the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), Janata Dal (United), and the BJP in Jharkhand.
The election process began with the notification on October 18 after which candidates could file their nominations until October 25.
Following this, the scrutiny of nominations took place to ensure that all candidates met the necessary qualifications. Candidates had until October 28 to withdraw their candidature if they chose. The polling day is scheduled for November 13 with the counting of votes set to occur on November 28.
Jharkhand Assembly Elections: Key Contestants
Six key ministers and several prominent leaders are in the fray in this phase, including former Chief Minister Champai Soren, who, after joining the BJP, is contesting from his traditional stronghold in Saraikela. He will contest against Ganesh Mahali of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), who was previously the BJP candidate here.
On the Lohardaga seat, Rameshwar Oraon, a Congress Minister in the Hemant Soren government, is up against Neeru Shanti Bhagat of the AJSU Party.
On the Jamshedpur West seat, Congress Minister Banna Gupta is in a direct contest with former Minister Saryu Rai of the JDU. Both have won this seat twice.
InJamshedpur East, Congress spokesperson and former IPS officer Ajay Kumar is fighting against BJP’s Purnima Das Sahu, the daughter-in-law of Odisha Governor Raghubar Das. BJP rebel candidate Shivshankar Singh is also in the fray, adding a third angle to this contest.
In Chaibasa, JMM Minister Deepak Birua faces BJP’s Geeta Balmuchu, a first-time candidate who has gained significant local traction due to her active social and political engagement.
Garhwa constituency sees a triangular contest, with Minister Mithilesh Thakur defending his seat against BJP’s Satyendra Nath Tiwari and Samajwadi Party’s former Minister Girinath Singh.
The Latehar seat is witnessing a high-stakes rivalry between JMM’s Baidyanath Ram and BJP’s Prakash Ram.
In Ranchi, a high-profile constituency, former Speaker and BJP minister C.P. Singh faces JMM’s Dr Mahua Maji, a Rajya Sabha MP.
JMM MLA and Minister Ramdas Soren on the Ghatsila seat is up against Babulal Soren, son of former Chief Minister Champai Soren, running as a BJP candidate.
In Potka, BJP’s Meera Munda, wife of former Chief Minister Arjun Munda, is challenging sitting JMM MLA Sanjeev Sardar.
The Jaganathpur seat sees a battle between Geeta Koda, wife of former Chief Minister Madhu Koda, and Congress MLA Sona Ram Sinku.
Previous Results
In the previous assembly election, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) won 30 seats, the BJP won 25 and Congress won 16 seats. A coalition of the JMM, Congress, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) formed the government after the last Assembly elections, with Soren assuming the role of chief minister.
The JMM-led I.N.D.I.A. coalition is seeking to return to power even as it is facing a tough contest from the BJP-led coalition, which has raised the election pitch through an aggressive Hindutva pitch.