New Delhi:
Polling to choose the next government of Maharashtra — the year’s last and most-watched contest — began this morning. In Jharkhand, the remaining 38 seats also went to polls. The counting of votes will take place on Saturday.

Here are top 10 points on this big story:

Ranchi:

Ahead of the voting in the first phase of Assembly elections in Jharkhand on Wednesday, Returning Officer for Ranchi Assembly constituency, Utkarsh Kumar said that the mock poll will begin at 5.30 am after which polling will commence.

“Polling parties for all 374 polling booths have gathered here to collect polling material. Later, they will leave for their respective booths in GPS-tracked vehicles. The mock poll will begin at 5.30 am, after which polling will start. All basic facilities including drinking water, toilets, and web-casting facilities are available at all polling stations. All preparations are in place for polling. Security and CAPF deployed at polling stations. All rules and regulations laid down by the Election Commission are being followed.”

He further said that adequate security has been deployed at every polling booth.

“In more sensitive places CAPF has been deployed. In other places, district police have been deployed. For patrolling police officials have been deployed. EVMs would be escorted by police to the Bhawan after polling. In the strongroom, three-layer security has been provided as per Election Commission directions. Everything is being CCTV monitored,” he further added.

Voting in 43 constituencies is scheduled for tomorrow while the second phase is scheduled for November 20 in the remaining 38 constituencies. The votes will be counted on November 23. In the previous assembly election, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha won 30 seats, the BJP won 25 and Congress won 16 seats.

In total, 15,344 polling stations have been set up across the state. Over 200 companies of security forces are deployed in strategic locations to maintain order and safeguard the electoral process. A total of 683 contenders, including 73 women, competed for seats in this phase.

The 43 constituencies include 17 general seats, 20 reserved for Scheduled Tribes, and six for Scheduled Castes.

List of constituencies going to polls in Jharkhand Phase 1 include

1. Kodarma

2. Barkatha

3. Barhi

4. Barkagaon

5. Hazaribagh

6. Simaria (SC)

7. Chatra (SC)

8. Baharagora

9. Ghatsila (ST)

10. Potka (ST)

11. Jugsalai (SC)

12. Jamshedpur East

13. Jamshedpur West

14. Ichagarh

15. Seraikella (ST)

16. Chaibasa (ST)

17. Majhgaon (ST)

18. Jaganathpur (ST)

19. Manoharpur (ST)

20. Chakradharpur (ST)

21. Kharsawan (ST)

22. Tamar (ST)

23. Torpa (ST)

24. Khunti (ST)

25. Ranchi

26. Hatia

27. Kanke (SC)

28. Mandar (ST)

29. Sisai (ST)

30. Gumla (ST)

31. Bishunpur (ST)

32. Simdega (ST)

33. Kolebira (ST)

34. Lohardaga (ST)

35. Manika (ST)

36. Latehar (SC)

37. Panki

38. Daltonganj

39. Bishrampur

40. Chhatarpur (SC)

41. Hussainabad

42. Garhwa

43. Bhawanathpur

Former Chief Minister and BJP candidate Champai Soren is contesting from Seraikella while Jamshedpur East is witnessing Congress’ Ajoy Kumar pitted against Purnima Das Sahu, daughter-in-law of former Jharkhand Chief Minister and current Odisha Governor Raghubar Das.

In Jamshedpur West, Congress’s Health Minister Banna Gupta is facing off against JD(U) leader Saryu Roy, who defeated Raghubar Das, who was then chief minister in 2019.

In Jaganathpur, BJP’s Geeta Koda, wife of former Chief Minister Madhu Koda is pitted against Congress leader Sona Ram Sinku. In Ranchi, the JMM has fielded sitting Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji.

The tenure of the 5th Jharkhand Assembly is set to conclude on January 5, 2025.

A coalition of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Indian National Congress, and Rashtriya Janata Dal formed the government after the last Assembly elections, with Soren assuming the role of Chief Minister.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

An ‘intruder’ who marries a girl from a tribal community will not be entitled to land in her name, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in poll-bound Jharkhand.

In jabs at the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress alliance, he said if the Bharatiya Janata Party wins, it will pass a law to stop transfer of land to ‘intruders’ – the reference was to ‘infiltrators’ from Bangladesh, an echo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments – who marry tribal women.

“Infiltrators are grabbing land by marrying our daughters. We will bring a law to prevent transfer of land to infiltrators if they marry tribal women. We will also form a committee to identify infiltrators to drive them out and reclaim land grabbed by them,” Mr Shah said at a rally in Seraikela.

The attack follows a similar broadside by Prime Minister Modi last week. Mr Modi was speaking in Garhwa where he slammed into Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s administration, accusing the ruling JMM, Congress, and Rashtriya Janata Dal of being “supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators”.

READ | PM’s “Infiltrator” Jab At Hemant Soren’s Party, Congress In Jharkhand

“The JMM-RJD-Congress government has taken appeasement to its peak. These parties are destroying the state’s social harmony. They are supporters of infiltrators. To get votes of Bangladesh infiltrators, they are getting them settled across Jharkhand,” he had said.

Meanwhile, Mr Shah also hit out at the JMM over “the way Champai Soren was humiliated and thrown out” and said, “This is not just an insult to Champai Soren but an insult to tribal people.”

Champai Soren was a former JM leader who was made Chief Minister after Hemant Soren was arrested and jailed on corruption charges, but removed immediately after the party boss got bail. 

He joined the BJP in August and his induction has been seen as a boost for the party’s efforts to strengthen its connection with the tribal communities, a strong support base of the JMM.

READ | Ex Chief Minister Champai Soren Joins BJP Days After Quitting JMM

Champai Soren was also referenced by the Prime Minister, who accused the JMM and Congress of having “left no stone unturned in humiliating an Adivasi son”.

The corrupt leaders of the JMM-Congress alliance, Mr Shah further said, would be jailed if the BJP wins back power in the mineral and coal-rich state, accusing the incumbent government of a Rs 1,000 crore jobs scam, a Rs 300 crore land scam, and a Rs 1,000 crore mining scam, among others.

Mr Shah said that if the BJP is voted to power, it would ensure “if the central government sends Rs 1 (as aid) 25 paise is added to it by the state… so Rs 1.25 reaches the people.”

The Home Minister also hit out at the Congress over the headline seizure of cash in December last year, when the Income Tax Department raided Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu’s home, resulting in the “highest-ever” recovery of over Rs 350 crore in a single operation.

“I ask all of you… has anyone seen Rs 350 crore? But Rs 350 crore was found at the house of a Congress MP. 27 machines had to be brought to count the notes,” he said.

READ | Over 17 Hours, 35 Crores: Big Haul In Ranchi Raids Linked To Minister

He also pointed to a more recent operation, in May, when cash worth over Rs 35 crore was seized from Congress leader Alamgir Alam’s private secretary’s room. The seizure was days before the general election and raised a political storm, with the BJP accused the Congress of corruption.

“Rs 30 crores were seized from Alamgir Alam’s residence. Whose is this Rs 350 crores… this Rs 30 crores? This was sent by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the youth of my Jharkhand… but the Hemant Soren government ate this up…” Mr Shah declared.

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