 "Jharkhand Assembly elections: Check date, time for first phase of polling")
Campaigning for 43 of the 81 Assembly seats in Jharkhand concluded on Monday, ahead of the first phase of elections scheduled for November 13.
Jharkhand Assembly elections 2024: Voter turnout and candidates
Out of the state’s 26 million registered voters, 13.7 million will vote in the first phase of the Assembly elections. A total of 683 candidates — 609 men, 73 women, and one from the third gender — are competing for the 43 seats. These include 17 general seats, 20 reserved for Scheduled Tribes, and six for Scheduled Castes.
Jharkhand polls: Full election schedule for Phase 1
>Date of issue of gazette notification: October 18
>Last date of nominations: October 25
>Date for scrutiny of nominations: October 28
>Last date for withdrawal of candidatures: October 30
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>Date of poll: November 13
>Date of counting: November 23
>Date before which election shall be completed: November 25
Jharkhand elections 2024: Voting time, stations, other key details
Over 15,000 polling stations have been set up for the first phase of voting, with 12,716 booths in rural areas and 2,628 in urban zones. The election preparations in the state are complete, with polling personnel already dispatched to 194 stations. Personnel for the remaining 31 booths will be sent on Tuesday.
Voting will be held from 7 am to 5 pm on November 13, with 950 booths closing at 4 pm. Voters in line at the cut-off time will still be allowed to vote. Additionally, 1,152 polling stations will be managed by women, and 24 booths will be run by people with disabilities.
Jharkhand Assembly polls: Key political leaders
Prominent leaders from both the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and INDIA blocs have been actively participating in the election campaign. Notable figures include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President JP Nadda, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, and others.
2024 Jharkhand elections: Key campaign issues
The NDA has focused on issues like ‘infiltration, corruption, and scams’, while the INDIA bloc has emphasised tribal rights and welfare.
Prime Minister Modi’s roadshow in Ranchi on Sunday attracted large crowds. Additionally, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and several BJP state chief ministers also participated in the campaign.
On the other hand, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who leads the JMM, alongside his wife and JMM legislator Kalpana Soren, addressed multiple rallies to support the ruling alliance.
Jharkhand election update: Issues and past performance
Significant issues in the current election include the BJP’s welfare schemes and the recent arrest and subsequent bail of Chief Minister Soren by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case tied to an alleged land scam. The JMM-led alliance has claimed 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 the government with a majority of 47 seats. The current Jharkhand Assembly consists of 74 members, with the ruling JMM-led alliance holding 44 seats.