Jharkhand Election 2019: Fate Of Several Big Guns In Fray As Phase 2 Polling On Saturday

There are a total of 260 candidates in the fray, including 29 women. Jamshedpur East and Jamshedpur West have 20 candidates each, while Seraikela has seven candidates, the lowest.

There are a total of 260 candidates in the fray, including 29 women. (File Photo/ Getty)

Ranchi: After a somewhat peaceful first phase of voting, Jharkhand is all set to witness the second phase polling of Assembly Elections for 20 seats on Saturday. According to reports, the Election Commission (EC) has deployed polling officials and security personnel for a free, fair and peaceful voting in the second phase. As per an official statement by the EC, polling will be held between 7 am and 5 pm in Jamshedpur (East) and Jamshedpur (West) constituencies, while the voters in the rest 18 can exercise their franchise between 7 am and 3 pm. "For the 20 Assembly seats, there are a total of 260 candidates whose fate will be decided by 48,25,038 voters, including 23,93,437 women and 90 third gender. The polling will take place at 6,066 polling booths of which 1,016 are in urban areas and the rest in rural areas," said Vinay Kumar Chaube, Chief Election Officer (CEO) of Jharkhand. He added that "webcasting arrangements have been made in 1,662 polling booths". Sources in the police said that more than 40,000 security forces have been deployed for the second phase of polling, which is taking place in Maoist affected areas. Sixteen of the 20 constituencies going to the polls on Saturday are reserved for the scheduled tribe (ST) candidates and one for the scheduled caste (SC). There are a total of 260 candidates in the fray, including 29 women. Jamshedpur East and Jamshedpur West have 20 candidates each, while Seraikela has seven candidates, the lowest. The centre of attraction is the Jamshedpur East seat from where Chief Minister Raghubar Das is contesting against former cabinet colleague Saryu Rai and Congress spokesperson Gaurabh Vallabh. Besides the Chief Minister, other major names contesting in the second phase include Jharkhand Assembly Speaker Dinesh Oraon, Urban Development Minister Neelkanth Singh Munda, Water Resources Minister Ramchandra Sahis, former cabinet minister Saryu Rai and state BJP president Laxman Giluwa. Jailed Maoist commander Kunadan Pahan is also contesting from the Tamar Assembly seat. WATCH | Women Voters Turn Out In Large Numbers In Jharkhand's Chhatarpur In Phase 1 Polling The Assembly seats where polls will be held on Saturday are Baharagora, Ghatsila(ST), Potka(ST), Jugsalai (SC), Jamshedpur(East), Jamshedpur(West), Seraikela(ST), Chaibasa(ST), Majhgaon(ST), Jaganathpur(ST), Manoharpur(ST), Chakradharpur(ST), Kharsawan(ST), Tamar(ST), Torpa(ST), Khunti (ST), Mandar(ST), Sisai(ST), Simdega(ST) and Kolebira(ST). Jharkhand Assembly Speaker Dinesh Oraon is contesting from Sisai on a BJP ticket, while BJP candidate and Jharkhand Rural Development Minister Neelkanth Singh Munda is in the fray in Khunti. BJP state unit president Laxman Gilua is contesting from Chakradharpur. The BJP is contesting in all the 20 constituencies going to the polls in the second phase, while the opposition alliance of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress are contesting in 14 and six seats, respectively. The RJD, which has got a total of seven seats according to the seat-sharing formula by the three opposition parties has no candidate in the second phase of polling. The first phase had concluded on November 30. The fifth and final phase of polling will be held on December 20 and counting will take place on December 23.