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The stage is set for the second and final round of Jharkhand Assembly Elections 2024 on Wednesday, as the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) coalition seeks to retain power, while the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) aims to wrest control.
This phase will determine the electoral fate of Jharkhand Chief Minister (CM) Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren (both JMM), and Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri (BJP), alongside more than 500 other candidates vying for 38 of the total 81 assembly seats.
During the election campaign, the NDA has attacked the JMM-led coalition over allegations of infiltration from Bangladesh and corruption, including the CM's ongoing bail in a case linked to a land scam. The BJP-led alliance has also raised the issue of Hindutva. Meanwhile, the ruling dispensation has tried to win over voters by promising welfare schemes and accusing the BJP of spending Rs 500 crore on "malicious campaigns" against a "tribal leader" in reference to CM Soren.
Polling will begin at 7 am in 14,218 voting centres and continue until 5 pm, except for 31 booths where voting will end at 4 pm. The first phase of elections was held on November 13.
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Eighteen of the 38 constituencies going to the polls in this phase are located in the Santhal Pargana region, which comprises the districts of Godda, Deoghar, Dumka, Jamtara, Sahibganj, and Pakur. The NDA has alleged that large-scale infiltration occurred in Santhal Pargana during the JMM-led government's tenure.
A total of 1.23 crore voters, including 60.79 lakh women and 147 third-gender voters, are eligible to cast their votes on Wednesday. In total, 528 candidates - 472 men, 55 women, and one third-gender person - are contesting.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K. Ravi Kumar said that all preparations for the voting process have been completed, with polling personnel dispatched to all booths peacefully.
Top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP President JP Nadda, and several state chief ministers, have targeted Hemant Soren, particularly over his five-month stint in jail in connection with a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. They also made the removal of Champai Soren as CM, shortly after Hemant Soren's release on bail in June, a key poll issue, claiming that a tribal leader had been insulted by the JMM. Champai Soren later joined the BJP and is contesting in the assembly elections.
INDIA bloc leaders, including Congress's Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, and his wife Kalpana Soren, have campaigned extensively, promising welfare schemes and accusing the BJP-led Centre of using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to target rival parties.
Prominent candidates in this round include Chief Minister Soren and his wife, BJP state president and former CM Babulal Marandi, Assembly Speaker Ravindra Nath Mahto (JMM), and BJP ally AJSU Party leader Sudesh Mahto.
The election includes 28 reserved seats for Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates and nine for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. In the 2019 polls, JMM won 19 ST seats, Congress six , BJP two, and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) 1. Of the SC seats, JMM won 2, BJP six, and RJD one.
In the NDA, the BJP has fielded candidates in 68 seats, All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) Party in 10, Janata Dal (United) in two, and Lok Janshakti (Ram Vilas) in one. The INDIA bloc has fielded JMM candidates in 43 seats, Congress in 30, RJD in six, and CPI(ML) in four, with friendly contests on some seats.
The 2019 assembly elections saw a close contest, with JMM winning 30 seats and BJP securing 25, down from 37 in 2014. The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance secured a comfortable majority with 47 seats.
Since the Model Code of Conduct was implemented, illegal materials and cash worth Rs 200 crore have been seized, the highest in recent history, according to the CEO. A total of 90 cases of violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) have been recorded.
Of the 14,218 polling stations, 239 will be entirely managed by women officials, and 22 booths will be manned by persons with disabilities (PwDs), the CEO confirmed.
(With PTI inputs)
