Stage set for final phase of Jharkhand Assembly Elections 2024; NDA, INDIA to vie for 38 seats

The stage is set for the second and final round of Jharkhand Assembly Elections 2024 on Wednesday as the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha JMMCongressRashtriya Janata Dal RJD coalition seeks to retain power while the BJPled National Democratic Alliance NDA aims to wrest controlThis 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 seatsDuring the election campaign the NDA has attacked the JMMled coalition over allegations of infiltration from Bangladesh and corruption including the CMs ongoing bail in a case linked to a land scam The BJPled 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 SorenPolling will begin at 7 am in 14218 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 13Eighteen 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 largescale infiltration occurred in Santhal Pargana during the JMMled governments tenureA total of 123 crore voters including 6079 lakh women and 147 thirdgender voters are eligible to cast their votes on Wednesday In total 528 candidates ndash 472 men 55 women and one thirdgender person ndash are contesting2019 Jharkhand Assembly Elections JMM won 30 seats BJP 25Chief Electoral Officer CEO K Ravi Kumar said that all preparations for the voting process have been completed with polling personnel dispatched to all booths peacefullyTop 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 fivemonth stint in jail in connection with a moneylaundering case linked to an alleged land scam They also made the removal of Champai Soren as CM shortly after Hemant Sorens 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 electionsINDIA bloc leaders including Congresss Rahul Gandhi party president Mallikarjun Kharge Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and his wife Kalpana Soren have campaigned extensively promising welfare schemes and accusing the BJPled Centre of using the Enforcement Directorate ED and Central Bureau of Investigation CBI to target rival partiesProminent 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 MahtoThe 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 oneIn 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 CPIML in four with friendly contests on some seatsThe 2019 assembly elections saw a close contest with JMM winning 30 seats and BJP securing 25 down from 37 in 2014 The JMMCongressRJD alliance secured a comfortable majority with 47 seatsSince 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 recordedOf the 14218 polling stations 239 will be entirely managed by women officials and 22 booths will be manned by persons with disabilities PwDs the CEO confirmedWith PTI inputs