Polling underway for second phase of Assembly elections in Jharkhand

Polling is
underway for the second phase of assembly elections in Jharkhand. Voting is
taking place for 20 constituencies spread over seven districts.

Polling
began at 7 this morning. It will end at 3 this afternoon in 18 constituencies,
while voters in Jamshedpur (East) and Jamshedpur (West) seats can exercise
their franchise till 5 PM.

Necessary
security arrangements have been made for smooth conduct of polls. More than
42,000 security personnel, including central forces, have been deployed to
ensure free, fair and peaceful polling.

Jharkhand
Chief Electoral Officer Vinay Kumar Choubey said that webcasting facilities
will be provided at 1662 polling stations. 260 candidates including 29 women
are in the fray in this phase.

Prominent
among them are Chief Minister Raghubar Das, Assembly Speaker Dinesh Oraon,
Rural Development Minister Neelkanth Singh Munda, Water Resources Minister
Ramchandra Sahis and BJP state unit president Laxman Gilua. Fate of AJSU
candidate Pradeep Kumar Balmachu, JD-U president Salkhan Murmu and Bandhu
Tirkey of JVM-P will also be decided today.