Voters in Jamshedpur East and Jamshedpur West constituencies will get two extra hours to exercise their franchise in comparison with voters in the remaining 18 seats that are going to polls in the second phase of elections on Saturday.
The decision, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vinay Kumar Choubey said, was taken to provide maximum time for voting to electors in areas that are not prone to Left Wing Extremism (LWE) violence.
“We try and extend the voting time in areas that do not have LWE presence. Since Jamshedpur East and Jamshedpur West constituencies are spread across urban areas, all the voters who reach the polling station by 5pm in the two constituencies will get to cast their votes,” Choubey said.
Most of the constituencies going to polls on Saturday fall within the limits of districts that are LWE-affected as per records with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The voting will begin in the 20 constituencies at 7am and end in all the constituencies other than Jamshedpur East and Jamshedpur West at 3pm, said Choubey.
As many as 260 candidates — 231 men and 29 women — are in fray for the second phase of elections in the 20 Assembly constituencies. Among the 20 constituencies, maximum women candidates are contesting from Potka, Chaibasa and Manoharpur, it added. Each of the three constituencies has three women candidates.
Choubey said ECI’s Booth App will be used in Jamshedpur East, Jamshedpur West and Chaibasa during the second phase of polls to facilitated real-time monitoring of voting trends. The Booth App will be used in only 10 of 81 Assembly constituencies in Jharkhand during this election, he added.
Through the Booth App, voters will be able to get real-time status of their polling booth and time their visit accordingly in order to avoid waiting in queue. The BLOs will also be able to use the App and know the real-time status of voter turnout in a particular polling station. The App was used in pilot projects during the Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Haryana elections.
A prohibition on liquor sale was imposed in East Singhbhum, Saraikela Kharsawan, West Singhbhum, Ranchi, Khunti, Gumla and Simdega districts from 3pm on Thursday. The decision was taken in accordance with the Election Commission of India’s guideline of declaring dry days in the districts going to polls at least 48 hours prior to the polling process.
The ongoing five-phase Assembly elections in Jharkhand began on November 30 and will conclude on December 20. The final counting will be done on December 23. Maximum number of constituencies will go to polls in the second phase of elections on Saturday.
