Jharkhand Assembly Elections 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Voting for first phase begins

Polling for the first phase of Jharkhand's assembly elections, bypolls in 33 assembly seats across 11 states and the Wayanad Parliamentary seat in Kerala began today, i.e., November 13. 

According to a report by PTI, a total of 1.37 crore out of the total 2.60 crore voters are eligible to participate in the first phase of voting today. There are 683 candidates in the fray, out of which, 609 are men, 73 women and one of the third gender person.

Visuals from a polling station in Jamshedpur showed voters arriving to caste their votes. 

#WATCH | Voting begins for the first phase of Jharkhand assembly elections; In this phase, voting is taking place on 43 out of 81 seats.

Visuals from a polling centre in Jamshedpur pic.twitter.com/cqSwJqSV6c

— ANI (@ANI) November 13, 2024

Meanwhile, mock polling was conducted at a polling station at St Francis School in Ranchi ahead of the polling, set to begin at 7 a.m. 

VIDEO | #JharkhandAssemblyElections2024: Mock poll being conducted at a polling station set up at St Francis School, Ranchi.

Voting on 43 of the 81 assembly seats in the first phase will be held today. The electoral fate of 683 candidates, including former chief minister… pic.twitter.com/w9lzGaatPX

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 13, 2024

Furthermore, mock polling was conducted at a polling station set up at Administrative Training Institute (ATI), Ranchi. 

VIDEO | Jharkhand Assembly Elections2024: Mock polling underway at a polling booth set up at the Administrative Training Institute (ATI) in #Ranchi.

Voting on 43 of the 81 assembly seats in the first phase will be held today. The electoral fate of 683 candidates, including… pic.twitter.com/sf12ljQfTV

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 13, 2024

Similarly, mock polling was also conducted at a polling station in Jamshedpur. 

VIDEO | #JharkhandAssemblyElections2024: Mock poll being conducted at a polling station in Jamshedpur.

Voting on 43 of the 81 assembly seats in the first phase will be held today. The electoral fate of 683 candidates, including former chief minister Champai Soren and ex-MP… pic.twitter.com/luIlfnFtTQ

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 13, 2024

Polling booth number 279 Presiding Officer Rakesh Raushan informed news agency ANI that the polling will be concluded at 5 p.m.

#WATCH | #JharkhandAssemblyElections2024 | Polling booth number 279, Presiding Officer Rakesh Raushan says, "We are fully prepared and the mock poll procedure is in the final stage. We are committed that our voters do not phase any trouble...The voting will start at 7 am and… pic.twitter.com/RiwMscnfLJ

— ANI (@ANI) November 13, 2024

In Jharkhand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA is eyeing on ousting the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) government headed by Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The state will hold voting in two phases, with the next and final phase scheduled for November 20. The first phase will cover 43 out of 81 seats. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the voters of Jharkhand to vote with full enthusiasm.

झारखंड विधानसभा चुनाव में आज पहले दौर की वोटिंग है। सभी मतदाताओं से मेरा आग्रह है कि वे लोकतंत्र के इस उत्सव में पूरे उत्साह के साथ मतदान करें। इस मौके पर पहली बार वोट देने जा रहे अपने सभी युवा साथियों को मेरी बहुत-बहुत बधाई! याद रखें- पहले मतदान, फिर जलपान!

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 13, 2024

"Today is the first round of voting in the Jharkhand assembly elections. I urge all voters to vote with full enthusiasm in this festival of democracy. On this occasion, my heartiest congratulations to all my young friends who are going to vote for the first time! Remember - first vote, then refreshment!" the PM wrote in a post on 'X'. 

Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge also urged the voters to caste their votes to strengthen the constitution and democracy.

झारखंड चुनाव के प्रथम चरण, वायनाड लोकसभा उपचुनाव व 10 राज्यों के 31 विधानसभा क्षेत्रों में उपचुनाव के लिए मतदान आज शुरू हो गया है।

सभी मतदाताओं से आग्रह है कि वो लोकतंत्र व संविधान को मजबूत व सशक्त बनाने के लिए अपना बहुमूल्य वोट ज़रूर डालें।

झारखंड की जनता को सभी के सामाजिक…

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) November 13, 2024