Voting commenced early Saturday for four Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand, marked by heavy security, officials reported.
The constituencies of Giridih, Dhanbad, Ranchi, and Jamshedpur opened their polling stations at 7 am, with voting scheduled to continue until 5 pm.
This phase marks the third for Jharkhand and the sixth nationwide.
Ninety-three candidates are competing in this phase, with Ranchi hosting the most contenders at 27. Dhanbad and Jamshedpur each feature 25 candidates, while Giridih has 16.
Approximately 82.16 lakh voters are eligible to cast their ballots, with Dhanbad having the highest voter count at 22.85 lakh and Giridih the lowest at 18.64 lakh.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar stated that all 8,963 booths are under close surveillance.
Among these, 186 will be managed by women, and 22 by the youth. Additionally, 15 unique booths are set up to showcase regional specialities.
Approximately 36,000 poll personnel have been deployed to ensure smooth conduct of the elections, Kumar added.
Key contests include the Ranchi seat, where Congress's Yashaswini Sahay, daughter of former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay, faces off against BJP MP Sanjay Seth.
In Dhanbad, the battle is between BJP's Baghmara MLA Dulu Mahato and Congress's Anupama Singh, wife of Bermo legislator Kumar Jaimangal.
In Jamshedpur, incumbent BJP MP Bidyut Baran Mahato is challenged by JMM's Baharagora MLA Samir Mohanty.
Meanwhile, in Giridih, AJSU Party's Chandra Prakash Chaudhary competes against JMM's Tundi MLA Mathura Mahato, with student leader Jairam Mahato adding an unexpected twist by contesting against both INDIA bloc and NDA candidates.
Follow us
