Thirteen Assembly constituencies across six districts of Jharkhand will go for polls in the first phase on Saturday. Around 37,38,000 voters will exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 189 candidates. The polling will take place across 3,906 polling stations in the six districts. The voting will begin at 7 am and conclude at 3 pm.

The Assembly constituencies for which voting will take place are Chatra, Gumla, Bishunpur, Lohardaga, Manika, Latehar, Panki, Daltonganj, Bishrampur, Chhatarpur, Hussainabad, Garhwa, and Bhawanathpur.

The major contesting parties in the election are BJP, Congress, JMM, AJSU, and RJD.

Prominent candidates in the fray are Jharkhand Health Minister Ramchandra Chandravanshi, Jharkhand PCC president and ex-IPS officer Rameshwar Oraon, and AJSU’s Radhakrishna Kishore.

Ramchandra Chandravanshi

Party- BJP

Ramchandra Chandravanshi, Health Minister, Jharkhand is contesting on a BJP ticket from Bishrampur Assembly seat. He is up against Chandrashekhar Dubey of the Congress and Ashrafi Chandrawanshi from the All India Majlis-Ittehadul-Muslimeen, or AIMIM. In the 2014 Jharkhand Legislative Assembly elections, Chandravanshi secured 37,974 votes in his favor while his nearest rival Anju Singh, an independent candidate, got 24,064 votes. Before joining the saffron party, Chandravanshi was a member of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). In 2009 state elections, Chandravanshi, then an RJD candidate, lost to Chandrasekhar Dubey of the Congress. However, in 2005, he won the election by a margin of more than 18,000 votes.

Rameshwar Oraon

Party- Congress

Rameshwar Oraon, Jharkhand PCC president is contesting from the Lohardaga Assembly seat. He is contesting against former PCC chief and BJP candidate Sukhdeo Bhagat and Neeru Shanti Bhagat from the All Jharkhand Students’ Union. Oraon, a former IPS officer, was a Minister of State for tribal affairs in the first term of the Dr. Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. Oraon also headed the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) for two consecutive terms since 2010.

Radhakrishna Kishore

Party- AJSU

Radhakrishna Kishore is contesting from the Chhatarpur Assembly seat. Kishore was a former BJP chief whip in the state assembly, and resigned from the party after he was denied ticket from the same seat. Before joining the AJSU, Kishore was a member of BJP, Congress and the Janata Dal (United). He is contesting against Pushpa Devi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Kishore, a five-time MLA, had served as a minister for a brief period in the Arjun Munda government.