Jharkhand Election: Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all voters to vote in Jharkhand with full enthusiasm on the democracy festival on Wednesday. Voting for 43 seats in the Jharkhand Assembly began today (November 13) with a total of 683 candidates trying their luck, including former CM Champai Soren and ex-MP Geeta Koda.

PM Modi posted on X and said, “Today is the first round of voting of the Jharkhand Assembly elections. I urge all voters to vote with full enthusiasm in this celebration of democracy. On this occasion, my most sincere congratulations to all my young friends who will be voting for the first time! Remember: first vote, then a refreshment! »

Polling began at 7:00 am in 15 districts and will continue till 5:00 pm. However, voting in 950 polling booths will end at 4 p.m., but people queuing up at that time will be able to exercise their franchise, an official said.

While the JMM-led coalition seeks to retain power through its welfare programs including Maiyan Samman Yojna, the BJP is campaigning with its aggressive agenda of Hindutva, infiltration and alleged corruption in the current system.

Top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP leader JP Nadda, held several rallies during which they attacked the coalition-led by the JMM for allegations of corruption and infiltration.

INDIA bloc leaders including Congress’ Rahul Gandhi, its president Mallikarjun Kharge, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his wife and lawmaker Kalpana Soren have highlighted welfare schemes and accused the BJP-led Center of releasing all central agencies including ED, CBI and IT. , against the opposition leaders. A total of 1.37 crore voters are eligible to participate in the November 13 poll.

683 candidates in the running during the phase 1 ballot

A total of 683 candidates – 609 men, 73 women and one person of the third gender – are vying for the 43 seats. Of the 43 seats in the Assembly, 17 are reserved for generals, 20 for Scheduled Tribes and 6 seats for Scheduled Castes.

A total of 15,344 polling stations were set up for the first phase of the elections. Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar said all preparations for voting had been completed and polling staff had reached the offices. The mock elections began at 5:30 a.m., he said.

Responsibility for the entire voting process at 1,152 polling stations will be in the hands of women, Kumar said, adding that 24 polling booths will be manned by persons with disabilities. Since the implementation of the model code of conduct, a total of Rs 208.78 crore worth of illegal materials and cash have been seized, he said. Till Tuesday, 58 cases were registered for violation of model code of conduct, including maximum 29 in Garhwa district.

The NDA bloc and the INDIA bloc went all out to secure their victories in the elections, with the BJP focusing on ‘Roti, Beti, Maati’ and the INDIA bloc trying to capitalize on ‘suppressing the voice of a tribal CM “. PM Modi held a mega road show in Ranchi on Sunday which attracted huge crowds.

Congress veteran Rameshwar Oraon will take on AJSU’s Shanti Bhagat in Lohardaga. In Jamshedpur (West), JD(U) candidate Saryu Roy clashed with Congress’ Banna Gupta. The second phase of elections will be held on November 20 in the state while the counting of votes will take place on November 23.

2019 election results

In the 2019 assembly elections, the fight was close, with the JMM winning 30 seats and the BJP 25, compared to 37 in 2014. The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance won a comfortable majority with 47 seats. Currently, the assembly strength stands at 74 members, with the JMM-led ruling alliance comprising 26 members from the JMM, 17 from the Congress and one from the RJD.