RANCHI: The political fortunes of Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and state BJP president Babulal Marandi will be decided on Wednesday as more than 1.23 crore voters across 12 districts, including the tribal heartland of Santhal Pargana and the coal belt of Dhanbad, are set to cast their votes in the second and final phase of the state assembly elections.
A total of 528 candidates – 472 men, 55 women, and one candidate from the transgender community – are contesting for 38 assembly seats.
Among the prominent contestants are CM Soren, BJP’s Marandi, Gandey MLA and Soren’s wife, Kalpana Murmu Soren, former minister Basant Soren, AJSU-P president Sudesh Kumar Mahto, leader of the opposition Amar Kumar Bauri, key ministers such as Dipika Pandey Singh, Bebi Devi, Hafizul Hassan, and speaker Rabindranath Mahto.
The voting follows a week of intense campaigning after the first phase, which saw elections across 43 constituencies on Nov 13. PM Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Congress MP and LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed rallies across the state.
Hemant Soren’s JMM faces a tough challenge as it seeks to defend the 14 seats it secured in the last elections. BJP is focusing on making gains in tribal-dominated areas, banking on its rhetoric around illegal Bangladeshi immigrants settling in the state. Congress will aim to retain its six seats, while AJSU-P is targeting three constituencies in this phase.
“Voting will be held at more than 14,000 booths in this phase. Polling will begin at 7am and end at 5pm. Voting will end earlier at 31 sensitive booths due to security concerns,” said state chief electoral officer K Ravi Kumar. The votes will be counted on November 23.