The fifth and final phase of polling in 16 assembly constituencies of Jharkhand passed off peacefully in Jharkhand, Election Commission officials said. An estimated 70.83 per cent of the total 40.05 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 5 pm when the polling ended, they said. Former CM and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Hemant Soren, Women and Child Development Minister Louis Marandi and Agriculture Minister Randhir Singh are some of the key candidates in this phase. Soren is facing a stiff contesting on Dumka seat from Louis Marandi. Singh is seeking re-election from Sarath Assembly seat. Soren is also contesting from Barhait seat too. Heavy security deployment was made across all the polling stations in view of the Naxal threat. The Election Commission said that of the 5,389 polling stations, 396 in Naxal-affected areas have been marked as “critical” while 208 have been declared “sensitive”. Counting of votes is scheduled to be done on December 23.
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Jharkhand Assembly Election Phase 5 Voting Live Updates, Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha Election News
Polling for fifth phase of Jharkhand Assembly election is underway. 62.65 per cent polling has been recorded till 3 pm.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is contesting on all 16 seats where voting is being held today. On the other hand the RJD, Congress, JMM alliance has also fielded candidates on all the seat. While the JMM has fielded candidates in 11 constituencies, the Congress and RJD are contesting from four and one seats respectively.
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha working president Hemant Soren is contesting from two seats. Soren is in the fray from Dumka and Barhait seats. On Dumka seats, Soren is facing a stiff contest against Women and Child Development Minister Louis Marandi.
Voting in the fifth and final phase of Jharkhand Assembly election is underway on 16 seats in six districts of the Santhal Pargana region of the state.