Jharkhand Assembly Elections: Security Arrangements In Place For Final Phase Voting On Friday

An electorate of 40,05,287 electorate, including 19,55,336 female and 30 third gender voters, are eligible to choose from a total 237 candidates, including 29 women nominees, across the 16 seats.

Election officials have also set up satellite phones and other facilities in 84 shadow areas. (File Photo/ Getty)

Jharkhand Assembly Election: The stage is set for the fifth and the final phase of Assembly Elections in Jharkhand that is scheduled to take place in as many as sixteen constituencies on Friday. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the polling for the final phase of Assembly elections will begin at 7 am in all the constituencies with the exercise ending at 3 pm in Borio, Barhait, Litipara, Maheshpur and Sikaripara and voting will continue till 5 pm in the rest of the eleven constituencies. An electorate of 40,05,287 electorate, including 19,55,336 female and 30 third gender voters, are eligible to choose from a total 237 candidates, including 29 women nominees, across the 16 seats, the Chief Election Officer said. Like the previous four-phase polling there have been left-wing extremism (LWE) pockets, the final phase also have certain Naxal pockets. The seats going for the final leg voting are Rajmahal, Borio (ST), Barhait (ST), Litipara (ST), Pakur, Maheshpur (ST), Sikaripara (ST), Nalla, Jamtara, Dumka (ST), Jama (ST), Jarmundi, Sarath, Poreyahat, Godda and Mahagama across six districts in the Santhal Pargana region of the state.

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Do you know 237 candidates are contesting from 16 Assembly Constituencies in Phase 5 of #JharkhandAssemblyElections2019. Download Voter Helpline App or login to https://t.co/0JswZowZ8V Stand by your responsibility. Choose wisely!#ElectionCommissionOfIndia pic.twitter.com/gCqXqtkuP2 — Election Commission of India #SVEEP (@ECISVEEP) December 18, 2019

"There are some LWE affected areas and accordingly all measures have been taken. Eight polling stations have been re-located, 396 polling stations in Naxal-affected areas are marked as critical and 208 polling stations are marked as sensitive," CEO told during a press conference held in Ranchi earlier in the day. Soren, the chief ministerial candidate of the opposition JMM-Congress-RJD alliance is contesting from two seats Dumka and Barhait which will go to polls on Friday. In Dumka, Soren is facing a tough fight from Woman and Child Welfare minister Louis Marandi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and in Barhait his main opponent is Simon Malto of the saffron party. Considering previous records of caste or communal tensions, 1,321 polling stations in non-LWE affected areas are critical while 1,765 polling stations are sensitive, he said adding that polling personnel of 28 polling stations have been air-dropped while polling personnel of 124 polling stations will leave the area for their respective district headquarters on Saturday to enable standard operating procedure. Reports also state that the election officials have also set up satellite phones and other facilities in 84 shadow areas to organise peaceful polling.  Central forces and Jharkhand armed forces and webcasting facilities in 1,347 polling stations are part of measures to conduct smooth and fair elections. In this round of elections, the Election Commission has set up 8,987 ballot units, 6,738 control units and 7,006 VVPAT machines. Altogether 249 polling stations have been marked as model booths, 133 polling stations will be conducted by women personnel and 1,347 have webcasting facilities. Elections have already been held in 65 out of total 81 Assembly constituencies in the previous four phases between November 30 and December 16. Counting of votes is scheduled on December 23. (With inputs from PTI)