NE NEWS SERVICE
RANCHI, DEC 12
Amidst tight security, polling for the third phase of polling in 17 constituencies began in Jharkhand on Thursday.
According to ECI, the polling will end at 5 p.m. in Ranchi, Hatia, Kanke, Barkhatha constituencies, whereas in rest of constituencies people can register their franchise till 3 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer of the state Vinay Kumar Choubey said that 56,18,267 were eligible voters from 17 constituencies in 8 districts. Out of this, 26,80,205 are women and 86 transgender.
The fate of 309 candidates, including 32 women nominees, will be decided in the third leg of the elections. The assembly elections to the 81-member House began on November 30 and will end on December 20.
CEO Choubey said that about 40,000 polling personnel have been deputed to conduct smooth and peaceful voting.
Out of the total 7,016 polling stations set up for the third-phase, 1,008 are marked as ‘critical’ and 543 ‘sensitive’ in Naxal-affected areas. A total of 1,119 polling stations are ‘critical’ and 2,672 polling stations are ‘sensitive’ in non-Naxal affected areas.
The 17 constituencies, including two reserved for SC candidates and one ST candidate, are spread over eight districts.
The seats where polling is being held are Kodarma, Barkatha, Barhi, Barkagaon, Ramgarh, Mandu, Hazaribag, Simaria (SC), Dhanwar, Gomia, Bermo, Ichagarh, Silli, Khijri (ST), Ranchi, Hatia and Kanke (SC), the Election Commission said in a release.
Candidates whose fate will be decided in the fray are former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi, Urban Development Minister C P Singh and Education Minister Neera Yadav.
While Marandi, the president of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), is contesting from the Dhanwar seat, Singh and Yadav are fighting from Ranchi and Kodarma constituencies, respectively.
The first-phase polling for 13 seats and the second-phase for 20 seats had concluded on November 30 and December 7, respectively. The fourth and the fifth phases polling for 15 and 16 seats will be held on December 16 and 20, respectively and counting of votes will take place on December 23, Choubey said.
