Jharkhand Assembly polls in two phases on Nov 13 and 20, results on Nov 23

The current term of the Jharkhand Assembly ends on January 5. In Jharkhand, there are a total of 81 Assembly constituencies, spread across 24 districts

The Election Commission on Tuesday announced that the Jharkhand Assembly elections are scheduled to take place in two phases, with the first phase on November 13 and the second phase on November 20. The counting of votes will occur on November 23.

The current term of the Jharkhand Assembly ends on January 5. The eligible voting population of the state stands at 26 million, of which 1.18 million are first-time voters, the EC said. There are 12.9 million female voters and 13.1 million male voters. Approximately 6.6 million voters belong to the young voter category, aged 20 to 29.

Jharkhand has a total of 81 Assembly constituencies across 24 districts. Of these, 44 are general, 28 are reserved for scheduled tribes (ST), and nine for scheduled castes (SC).

During the press conference, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar expressed his gratitude to the public for their strong participation in the recently concluded Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana elections on October 8. Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu were also present at the conference.

The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) will be hoping for a second term, while the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party will seek a return to power.

In the 2019 Assembly elections, the JMM won 30 seats, Congress won 16, and the BJP secured 25 seats.

The EC also expressed concern about urban voter apathy, highlighting a trend where many eligible voters in urban areas are skipping the electoral process. Kumar pointed out cities like Gurugram, Pune, Thane, and Faridabad as examples of areas where urban voter apathy has been observed.

The election body also announced dates for the Maharashtra elections, set to be held in a single phase on November 20. Its counting will be done alongside Jharkhand on November 23.