Campaigning for 43 of the 81 assembly seats in Jharkhand came to a close on Monday ahead of the first phase of elections, set to take place on November 13.
Key leaders from both the NDA and INDIA blocs have been actively involved in the campaign, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President JP Nadda, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, among others.
A total of 1.37 crore voters out of the state’s 2.60 crore registered voters are eligible to cast their ballots on November 13.
A total of 683 candidates—609 men, 73 women, and one from the third gender—are vying for the 43 seats, which include 17 general seats, 20 reserved for Scheduled Tribes, and 6 for Scheduled Castes, according to Chief Electoral Officer K. Ravi Kumar.
More than 15,000 polling stations have been set up for the first phase, with 12,716 booths located in rural areas and 2,628 in urban areas. Kumar confirmed that all preparations for the election are complete, with polling personnel already dispatched to 194 stations. Personnel for the remaining 31 booths will be sent on Tuesday.
Voting will take place from 7 AM to 5 PM on November 13, except at 950 booths, where polling will end at 4 PM. Voters in line at that time will still be allowed to cast their ballots.
In a notable move, women will oversee the voting process at 1,152 polling stations, and 24 booths will be operated by people with disabilities.
The election campaign has been intense, with the NDA focusing on issues such as “infiltration, corruption, and scams,” while the INDIA alliance has emphasised tribal rights and welfare.
Prime Minister Modi held a massive roadshow in Ranchi on Sunday, drawing large crowds, while BJP leaders, including Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and several BJP state chief ministers also participated in the campaign.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who leads the JMM, along with his wife and JMM legislator Kalpana Soren, addressed multiple rallies in support of the ruling alliance.
Key issues in the election include the BJP’s welfare schemes and the recent arrest and bail of Chief Minister Soren by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam. The ruling JMM-led alliance has argued that the arrest was politically motivated.
In the 2019 assembly elections, the JMM secured 30 seats, while the BJP won 25. The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance ultimately formed a majority government with 47 seats. The current Jharkhand assembly has 74 members, with the ruling JMM-led alliance holding 44 seats.