Ranchi. In the elections being held for 43 assembly seats in Jharkhand, about 13.04 percent voting took place till 9 am on Wednesday. The officers provided this information. Voting began at 7 am in these constituencies and will continue till 5 pm. A total of 683 candidates, including former Chief Minister Champai Soren, are trying their luck in the elections. An official said that voting at 950 polling stations will end at 4 pm, but till that time people standing in queues will be able to exercise their franchise. Long queues of voters were seen at many polling stations in the morning to cast their votes. Highest 15.09 percent voting took place in Simdega seat and 12.06 percent people in Ranchi and 14.62 percent people in Seraikela-Kharsawan exercised their franchise till 9 am. Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar exercised his franchise at ATI polling station in Ranchi.
Gangwar said, “Today is the first phase of voting for Jharkhand assembly elections. I urge all voters to exercise their constitutional right as soon as possible and vote with full enthusiasm in this great festival of democracy. Remember, first vote and then refreshments.” Chief Minister Hemant Soren also urged people to vote and sought support. “If you like our work, please support us,” Soren said in a post on social media platform ‘X’. I promise that I will do 10 years of work in the next five years so that no one can stop the pace of our progress.
Also read: Prime Minister appealed to the voters to vote with full enthusiasm in the celebration of democracy in Jharkhand.
In the assembly elections, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led alliance is trying to retain power on the basis of its welfare schemes including the ‘Maiya Samman Yojana’, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to retain power on the basis of infiltration and alleged corruption in the current government. The issue has been raised vigorously. Top BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP chief JP Nadda held several rallies in the state, while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his wife and MLAs. Leaders of the ‘India’ alliance, including Kalpana Soren, appealed to the people to vote in favor of their candidates on the strength of the welfare schemes of the state government. A total of 1.37 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in this phase. Chief Electoral Officer K. Ravi Kumar said that all preparations for voting have been completed.