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The ruling JMM-led INDIA bloc and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance are engaged in a fierce battle in the elections in the state, the first phase of which was held on November 13.
Star campaigners of both camps including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, and Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi canvassed for their respective party nominees during the campaigning.
Eighteen of the 38 constituencies going to polls fall in the Santhal Paragana region comprising six districts. The NDA has been alleging during electioneering that large-scale infiltration took place in Santhal Paragana during the past five years of the JMM-led regime.
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Altogether 528 candidates – 472 men, 55 women and a third gender person – are in the fray in 38 seats.
Prominent among the candidates include Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren (both JMM), his sister-in-law Sita Soren (BJP), state BJP president and ex-CM Babulal Marandi, Assembly Speaker Ravindra Nath Mahto (JMM), AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto and Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri (BJP).
Out of the 38, eight are reserved for scheduled tribes and three for scheduled castes.
A total of 14,218 polling stations have been set up in both rural and urban areas for the second and final phase of elections. Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar said all preparations for voting have been completed. Polling personnel will be dispatched to their polling stations on Tuesday.
In the second phase, voting will be held on November 20 from 7 am to 5 pm. However, in 31 booths, the voting time will end at 4 pm, though people standing in the queue at that time will be able to vote.
The responsibility of the entire voting process at 239 polling stations will be on the hands of women, Kumar said, adding that 22 booths will be manned by persons with disabilities (PwDs).
He said since the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct, a total of Rs 196 crore worth of illegal material and cash has been seized.
Both the NDA and INDIA bloc pulled out all the stops to ensure their victories in the upcoming elections with the former concentrating on “infiltration, corruption and scams” while the latter focused on tribal rights and welfare issues and how they were being harassed.
Key factors that are likely to influence the election include the BJP’s central welfare schemes and the arrest and subsequent bail of Soren by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ruling alliance claims the arrest was politically motivated, as Soren was detained in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land fraud.
In the 2019 assembly elections, the contest was close, with the JMM winning 30 seats and the BJP securing 25, down from 37 in 2014. The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance won a comfortable majority with 47 seats.