Ranchi:

As Jharkhand gears up for the second phase of the assembly elections tomorrow, the state faces a fierce battle between the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress alliance looking to retain power while the Bharatiya Janata Party and allies seeking to remove Chief Minister Hemant Soren-led government.

In the second phase, CM Hemant Soren’s Barhait constituency is one of the 38 assembly constituencies which will be going to polls. The BJP has fielded Gamliyel Hembrom in Barhait.

Another prominent face in the second phase is Babulal Marandi of BJP, contesting from Dhanwar constituency. He was leader of opposition in the outgoing assembly and is also the state’s first CM after the formation of the first assembly in 2000. He will be contesting against JMM’s Nizam Uddin Ansari.

Kalpana Soren, Jharkhand CM’s wife is in the fray iagainst BJP’s Muniya Devi in the Gandey assembly constituency. She won the assembly bypoll in Gandey held earlier this year.

Another prominent face in the assembly election is BJP’s Sita Soren. She is contesting from the Jamtara constituency.

The polling for the second phase elections will be starting at 7 am.

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

The enforcement agencies have seized over Rs 1,000 crore worth of cash, liquor and other inducements in the ongoing elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and across 14 states where bypolls are being held, the Election Commission said Monday.

Out of Rs 1,000 crore, 858 crores has been seized from Maharashtra and Jharkhand, which is 7 times the seizures done during the assembly elections in 2019, the poll body said.

In 2019 assembly elections, Maharashtra recorded seizures worth Rs. 103.61 crore while for Jharkhand it was Rs. 18.76 crore.

The second round of voting in Jharkhand will take place on November 20. Maharashtra will vote on the same day. The votes for both states will be counted on November 23.

“In Maharashtra, seizures were recorded in all cohorts across all districts, much higher than previous assembly elections. A few noteworthy operations included seizure of Rs. 3.70 crore of cash from a suspicious Jeep in Wada police station area in Palghar District. In another noteworthy incident, in Jamod AC of Buldhana district, 4500 kg of Ganja plants worth Rs 4.51 crore were seized. In Raigad, Rs. 5.20 crore worth of silver bars were seized,” said the poll body.

The poll body said it focus on curbing the role of money power in the elections has resulted in increased volume of seizures.

Chief Election Officer Rajiv Kumar has directed all officials and observers to continue strict watch over next two days and curb distribution of any inducements till polling is complete.

“Jharkhand also witnessed record seizures and this time focus was also to curb illicit mining activities which resulted in seizures of illegal mining materials and machines involved. In a single incident, Rs. 2.26 crore worth of illegal mining material was seized in Rajmahal AC in Sahibganj district and many such actions included seizures related to illegal mining activities,” read the statement.

In Daltonganj, 687 kg of poppy straw was seized, while in Hazaribagh 48.18 Kg of Marijuana was seized, said the Commission.

In Rajasthan, 449 cartons of liquor consignment, hidden behind many layers of boxes of potatoes, was seized at Nagaur while in transit from one neighbouring state to another, said the poll body.

“The surge in seizures involves an extensive monitoring process, which starts months before the announcement of elections. It included an array of activities like sensitising and reviewing enforcement agencies for more coordinated and comprehensive monitoring, marking of expenditure sensitive constituencies, ensuring adequate field teams, training on expenditure monitoring systems and appointment of experienced officers as Expenditure Observers,” said the poll body.

The poll body said the seizures were also the result of investments made in information technology.

“Information Technology is also heavily used through inhouse software ESMS (Election Seizure Management System) for real-time monitoring and sharing of information amongst multiple agencies for a wider deterrence,” it said.
 

Bundles of cash adding up to a staggering Rs 50 lakh were found hidden inside the spare tyre of a vehicle in poll-bound Jharkhand. The recovery was made by Income Tax department officials at a checkpoint during a vehicle inspection in the Deori police station area near the Jharkhand-Bihar border in Giridih district. An investigation into the source and purpose of the money has been launched.

In a video, income tax and security officials are seen taking several stacks of cash out of the tyre through a narrow cut. Four officials take turns putting their hands deep into the tyre to pull the cash out and the bundles add up to 11. 

Bharatiya Janata Party’s MP from Jharkhand’s Godda Constituency, Nishikant Dubey, shared the video on X (formerly Twitter) and attacked the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and its ally Congress for “corruption” in the state.

“If you want to see corruption and piles of money, come to Jharkhand. Today, the income tax department and @ECISVEEP seized 50 lakhs from JMM to influence the elections in Giridih. Look at the Jugaad of Congress and JMM,” he wrote in the caption.

भ्रष्टाचार और पैसों का अम्बार देखना हो तो झारखंड आइए।आज गिरिडीह में चुनाव को प्रभावित करने के लिए झामुमो के 50 लाख की बरामदगी इनकम टैक्स व @ECISVEEP ने की ।कॉंग्रेस,झामुमो का जुगाड़ देखिए । pic.twitter.com/Gny953gVzl

— Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) November 14, 2024

The video was then reshared by BJP Jharkhand’s state president Babulal Marandi who alleged that Congress and JMM are trying to influence the election with “money power”.  

झारखंड विधानसभा चुनाव में अपनी हार निश्चित देखकर झामुमो कांग्रेस धन बल के सहारे चुनाव प्रभावित करना चाहती है।

हेमंत जी, झारखंड के जागरूक मतदाता पैसों के लालच में नहीं फंसने वाले… आपकी काठ की हांडी बार-बार चढ़ने वाली।

इस चुनाव में जनता की जीत होगी, भाजपा की जीत होगी। https://t.co/i41DNVa9Tk

— Babulal Marandi (@yourBabulal) November 14, 2024

The cash recovery comes the day after Jharkhand voted in the first phase of state polls. A turnout of 64.86 percent was recorded till 5 pm in the 43 Jharkhand seats that voted yesterday. The second phase of polling will be held on November 20 and the votes will be counted on November 23.

Jharkhand Assembly Polls Live Updates::

Voting for the Jharkhand assembly elections phase 1 is being held today with 43 of the state’s 81 seats up for grabs. By-elections are also being held today on 31 assembly seats across 10 states and the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat of Kerala.

Polling began at 7 am in 15 districts and will continue till 5 pm.

in Jharkhand, the ruling JMM has fielded 23 candidates and its allies Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have put forward 17 and 5 candidates, respectively.

The Opposition BJP has fielded 36 candidates, while the Janata Dal United (JDU) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have nominated 2 and 7 candidates, respectively.

The second phase of elections will be held on November 20 and the votes will be counted on November 23.

Here Are Live Updates On Jharkhand Assembly Elections 2024: