Jharkhand Assembly Election 2019 Date and Time Live Updates: Assembly elections in Jharkhand will be held in 5 phases in November, December, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Friday. With the announcement of poll dates, the Model Code of Conduct has come into effect in the state.
The first phase of polling is scheduled to be held on November 30. Voting in second phase will be held on December 7 for 20 constituencies. Third phase will be held on December 12, fourth phase on December 16 and fifth phase on December 20. Counting of votes will be held in December 23.
The Jharkhand Legislative Assembly has 82 seats. While 81 members are directly elected by the people of the state, one is nominated. The tenure of the current assembly expires on January 5, 2020 and the new government has to be formed before that.
In 2014, the ECI had conducted elections in five phases between November 13 and December 20. The result was announced on December 23. BJP leader Raghubar Das took as the 10th CM of Jharkhand on December 28, 2014 in 14 years of its formation. Das also is the Jharkhand’s first non-tribal Chief Minister.
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Voting in second phase will be held on December 7 for 20 constituencies. Third phase will be held on December 12, fourth phase on December 16 and fifth phase on December 20. Counting of votes will be held in December 23.
Assembly elections in Jharkhand will be held in five phases from November 5. Counting of votes will be held on December 23. Model Code of Conduct has come into effect in the state with the announcement of poll dates.
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora is holding a press conference where he will announce dates for Jharkhand Assembly elections. 19 districts in Jharkhand are affected by Left-wing extremism, Arora said.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Rabhubar Das has set a target of winning 65 seats in 81-seat state assembly. "One cannot compare one state with the other. These states do not have 26 per cent tribals. We will aim high. We will definitely win 65 plus seats in the Assembly polls," Raghubar Das had said after results of Haryana, Maharashtra elections were announced last week.
Though a final announcement is yet to be made, speculations are that Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is likely to contest on 43-45 seats, Congress 25-27, and RJD, Left can field candidates on 5 seats each against the BJP-led NDA. Babulal Marandi's Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) is not part of the Grand Alliance. Sources said Marandi is not ready to accept Hemant Soren as the leader of the alliance and also he wants at least 22 seats for his party.
While dates for Jharkhand assembly elections are to be announced today, parties are already in campaign mode in state. CM Rabhubar Das has just completed his Johar Janashirwaad Yatra during which toured the state. Similarly, Hemant Soren took out Badlaw Yatra and Babulal Marandi organised Janadesh Yatra to connect with the voters.
The Opposition alliance in Jharkhand comprising the Congress, JMM, RJD, BSP, Left and others is facing a stiff challenge in the state. The BJP-led NDA has won 12 out 14 Parliamentary seats in the Lok Sabha elections held just five months ago. The BJP also emerged as the single largest party in the just-concluded assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra. While in Haryana, the party has already formed the government, in Maharashtra it is still ironing out the difference with ally Shiv Sena.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) president Hemant Soren has made it clear that his party will play the role of 'big brother' in the Opposition alliance contesting maximum number of seats. While a formal seat-sharing formula is yet to be finalised, Soren said JMM will contest at least 45 to 46 seats.
The Jharkhand govt had approached the Election Commission last month requesting at least 250 companies of paramilitary forces to conduct the assembly elections in the state. In 2014, elections were held in Jharkhand in five phases from November 25 to December 20.
Raghubar Das is a BJP leader and Chief Minister of Jharkhand. He took oath as the 10 CM of Jharkhand on December 28, 2014 after BJP-led alliance emerged victorious in the assembly elections. He is also first non-tribal Chief Minister of Jharkhand. A former employee of Tata Steel, Das served as the MLA for five times, representing Jamshedpur East since 1995.
The previous Assembly election in Jharkhand took place in December 2014. The elections were held in five phases between November 25 and December 20. Counting was done December 23. The BJP-led alliance won 42 seats. Also, this was the first time since Jharkhand's creation that an alliance gained majority in the assembly. While the BJP won 37 seats, it ally AJSU pocketed five seats. The JVM(P) extended support to the BJP in February 2015.
In the current House, the Bharatiya Janata Party enjoys a comfortable majority. The saffron party has the support of 52 seats which includes three seats of the AJSU. The JMM has 17 MLAs and the Congress has five. The JVM(P), BSP, Marxist Co-ordination Committee (MCC), CPI(ML), NSM have one seat each.
The Jharkhand Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Jharkhand. The term of the current Jharkhand Legislative expires on January 5, 2020. As per the set norms, a new government has to be formed before that else the President's rule comes into effect automatically.
The Jharkhand Legislative Assembly has 82 seats. While 81 members are elected directly by the people of the state, the Governor has the right to nominate one member.
The Election Commission of India will announce the Assembly election schedule of Jharkhand on Friday evening. The dates will be announced at a press conference by CEC Sunil Arora.