Campaigning ended on Tuesday for the third phase of the Jharkhand Assembly elections to be held in 17 constituencies in eight districts on Thursday.
In the December 12 poll, a total of 309 candidates, including 32 women, are in the fray. The highest number of 31 candidates are contesting from the Ichagarh Assembly segment, while Ranchi and Kanke have 12 candidates each.
Of the 17 seats going to poll, one is reserved for Scheduled Tribes while two are reserved for Scheduled Castes.
During this phase of the campaign, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) used star campaigners, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, to woo voters. Former Congress president and senior leader Rahul Gandhi, too, addressed election meetings to bolster the prospects of his party’s candidates.
Prominent faces
Former chief minister and president of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) Babulal Marandi; Jharkhand Education Minister and BJP candidate Neera Yadav; her Ministerial colleague Urban Development Minister C.P. Singh; and president of the All Jharkhand Students Union Sudesh Mahto, are prominent faces in the third phase elections.
Jharkhand’s Chief Electoral Officer Vinay Choubey said that in five of 17 seats, people can cast their votes up to 5 p.m., while in the remaining 12 seats, voting will end at 3 p.m., on Thursday. He said security had been beefed up with the deployment of State Police and paramilitary forces for the smooth conduct of polling.
