Jharkhand election voting: In the second and final phase of elections for Jharkhand assembly elections, about 68 percent of the voters exercised their franchise on Wednesday amid tight security in 38 constituencies. Officials said that the voting percentage was higher this time than 67.04 percent in the 2019 assembly elections. With this, elections for the 81-member state assembly were concluded. In the first phase of voting for 43 seats in the state on November 13, 66 percent of the 1.37 crore voters exercised their franchise.

An Election Commission official said, "According to the data till 8 pm, about 67.71 percent voting took place. Jamtara district topped with 76.16 percent polling, while Bokaro district recorded the lowest polling of 60.97 percent." According to the Election Commission, the overall polling percentage in the state was higher than the 63.9 percent recorded in the 2019 assembly elections.

In the Jharkhand elections, the ruling JMM-led 'India' alliance is trying to retain power on the basis of its welfare schemes, while the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is trying to return to power.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said, "The election process was peaceful and no untoward incident took place. Two FIRs were lodged against the polling and presiding officers for violating the secrecy of voting, one of which was lodged in Gandey."

Inspector General of Police (Operations) Amol V Homkar said the polling was peaceful and the seizures exceeded Rs 200 crore, including Rs 163 crore seized by the police.

Homkar said that in the second phase, 891 polling stations were in Maoist-affected areas. A total of 585 companies of paramilitary forces were deployed to conduct the elections. Apart from this, 60 companies of state armed forces, 26,000 jawans of home guards, and jawans of special forces like Cobra and Jaguar were also monitoring. According to the Election Commission, the state's Jamtara district recorded the highest polling of 76.16 percent, followed by Pakur at 75.88 percent, Deoghar at 72.46 percent, and Ranchi district at 72.01 percent.

At the same time, 71.98 percent of voting took place in Ramgarh district, 71.74 percent in Dumka, 67.24 percent in Godda, 65.63 percent in Sahebganj, 65.89 percent in Giridih, 64.41 percent in Hazaribagh and 63.39 percent in Dhanbad. BJP ally AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto is contesting from Silli. The lowest voting was recorded in Dhanbad constituency at 45.14 percent.

Barhet's seat, from where Chief Minister Hemant Soren is contesting, recorded 66.13 percent polling. Gandey assembly constituency, from where the Chief Minister's wife Kalpana Soren is contesting again, recorded 72.83 percent polling. The lowest polling was recorded in the Bokaro assembly seat at 50.52 percent. Another official said that a total of 1.23 crore voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in the second phase, including 60.79 lakh women and 147 third-gender voters.

A total of 528 candidates are contesting in the second phase of elections. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged voters in Jharkhand to participate in the grand festival of democracy and said "Your every vote is the strength of the state". Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren also said that the second phase of voting will play an important role in the creation of Golden Jharkhand.

Soren said on the social media platform 'X', "In the first phase of elections, people in 43 assembly constituencies enthusiastically exercised their franchise. All sections voted for their rights and a strong Jharkhand. Those who are conspiring against Jharkhand will be given a befitting reply." Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi also urged voters to participate in the voting for a better future.

Out of these 38 assembly seats, 18 constituencies are in the Santhal Pargana region, which includes six districts - Godda, Deoghar, Dumka, Jamtara, Sahibganj, and Pakur. The remaining 18 seats are in the North Chotanagpur division and two seats are in South Chotanagpur.