Jharkhand Election 2024 Phase-1 voting tomorrow: Key constituencies, candidates, poll timing – All you need to know

The campaigning for the first phase of Jharkhand's assembly elections concluded on Monday, setting the stage for voting on November 13. This phase will cover 43 out of the total 81 seats, with 1.37 crore eligible voters out of the state’s total electorate of 2.60 crore. 

-- A total of 683 candidates are contesting in the first phase, comprising 609 men, 73 women, and one candidate from the third gender. The 43 constituencies include 17 general seats, 20 reserved for Scheduled Tribes, and six for Scheduled Castes.

-- High-profile seats in the first phase include Seraikella, Ranchi, Jamshedpur West, Jaganathpur, and Jamshedpur East. In Seraikella, former Chief Minister and BJP candidate Champai Soren, known for his strong influence among tribal voters, is running after joining the BJP earlier this year due to dissatisfaction with Chief Minister Hemant Soren. In Ranchi, the JMM has fielded sitting Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji.

-- In Jamshedpur West, Congress’s Health Minister Banna Gupta faces a competitive race against JD(U) leader Saryu Roy, known for defeating then-Chief Minister Raghubar Das in 2019. Jamshedpur East will see Congress candidate Ajoy Kumar challenge BJP’s Purnima Das Sahu, while in Jaganathpur, BJP’s Geeta Koda, wife of former Chief Minister Madhu Koda, will take on Congress leader Sona Ram Sinku.

-- Polling arrangements are extensive, with 15,344 polling stations set up across the state. Of these, 12,716 are located in rural areas and 2,628 in urban areas. The polling hours will run from 7 am to 5 pm, except for 950 stations where voting will close at 4 pm, though voters already in line at that time will still be allowed to cast their votes. 

-- 1,152 polling stations will be managed entirely by women, and 24 stations will be overseen by handicapped personnel.

-- Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar said that authorities have seized illegal materials and cash worth Rs 179.14 crore since the implementation of the code. Additionally, 54 cases of code violations have been registered.

-- Prime Minister Modi’s roadshow in Ranchi on Sunday was one of the highlights of the campaign, drawing large crowds. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who serves as the BJP’s election co-in-charge, and various CMs from BJP-ruled states also joined in intensive campaigning. 

-- Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s campaign, marked by multiple rallies, kept the focus on tribal rights and welfare, while the INDIA bloc emphasized alleged harassment faced by the tribal communities. In contrast, the NDA’s messaging centered on “infiltration, corruption, and scams.”

-- The political landscape is shaped by recent and historical dynamics. In the 2019 elections, the JMM won 30 seats, and the BJP secured 25, down from 37 in 2014. The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance had a majority with 47 seats. Currently, the assembly comprises 74 members, with the ruling JMM-led alliance holding 44 seats – 26 from the JMM, 17 from Congress, and one from the RJD.

-- The arrest of Chief Minister Soren by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land fraud has added another layer of complexity, with the ruling alliance claiming the arrest was politically motivated.

List of constituencies going to polls in Jharkhand Phase 1

1. Kodarma
2. Barkatha
3. Barhi
4. Barkagaon
5. Hazaribagh
6. Simaria (SC)
7. Chatra (SC)
8. Baharagora
9. Ghatsila (ST)
10. Potka (ST)
11. Jugsalai (SC)
12. Jamshedpur East
13. Jamshedpur West
14. Ichagarh
15. Seraikella (ST)
16. Chaibasa (ST)
17. Majhgaon (ST)
18. Jaganathpur (ST)
19. Manoharpur (ST)
20. Chakradharpur (ST)
21. Kharsawan (ST)
22. Tamar (ST)
23. Torpa (ST)
24. Khunti (ST)
25. Ranchi
26. Hatia
27. Kanke (SC)
28. Mandar (ST)
29. Sisai (ST)
30. Gumla (ST)
31. Bishunpur (ST)
32. Simdega (ST)
33. Kolebira (ST)
34. Lohardaga (ST)
35. Manika (ST)
36. Latehar (SC)
37. Panki
38. Daltonganj
39. Bishrampur
40. Chhatarpur (SC)
41. Hussainabad
42. Garhwa
43. Bhawanathpur