Polling begins for 4 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand

Ranchi: Voting for four Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand commenced on Saturday morning amid heavy security, officials said.

Polling began at 7 am in the constituencies of Giridih, Dhanbad, Ranchi, and Jamshedpur, and would continue till 5 pm, they said.

Ninety-three candidates are in the fray in this phase, which is third for the state and sixth nationwide. A total of 27 candidates are fighting the elections from Ranchi, 25 each from Dhanbad and Jamshedpur, and 16 from Giridih.

About 82.16 lakh voters are eligible to cast their ballots in these four constituencies, with Dhanbad having the highest number of voters at 22.85 lakh, and Giridih the lowest at 18.64 lakh.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said all 8,963 booths were being closely monitored.

Of these, 186 will be managed by women and 22 by the youth.

Additionally, there are 15 unique booths showcasing the specialties of the respective areas.

About 36,000 poll personnel have been deployed in this phase, Kumar said.

In the Ranchi Lok Sabha seat, Congress's Yashaswini Sahay, daughter of former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay, is contesting against the BJP MP Sanjay Seth.

Dhanbad is witnessing a fight between BJP's Baghmara MLA Dulu Mahato and Congress's Anupama Singh, the wife of the party's Bermo legislator Kumar Jaimangal.

In Jamshedpur, BJP MP Bidyut Baran Mahato has been pitted against JMM's Baharagora MLA Samir Mohanty.

In Giridih, AJSU Party's Chandra Prakash Chaudhary is up against JMM's Tundi MLA Mathura Mahato. A student leader, Jairam Mahato, has added a twist to the contest by challenging candidates of both the INDIA bloc and the NDA.