Jharkhand Elections 2024: PM Modi urges voters to show 'full enthusiasm in this festival of democracy'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged voters in the state of Jharkhand to show “full enthusiasm in this festival of democracy” amid the states' assembly elections today on November 13. Voters were urged by Modi to cast their ballots with "full enthusiasm" at the Jharkhand assembly elections' first round.
With 683 contestants vying for 43 assembly seats in Jharkhand, including former MP Geeta Kora and former chief minister Champai Soren, voting got underway this morning. The polling began around 7 am in these constituencies across 15 districts and will continue till 5 pm.
"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," Modi said in a post in Hindi on X.
"I would want to use this opportunity to extend my sincere congratulations to all of my young friends who will be casting their first ballots! Do not forget: "pehle matdan, phir jalpaan." he added.
The second phase of elections will be held on November 20 in the state while the counting of votes will be done on November 23.
Altogether 683 candidates - 609 men, 73 women and a third gender person - are in the fray in the 43 seats. Out of the 43 assembly seats, 17 are reserved for general, 20 for scheduled tribes and 6 seats for scheduled castes.
A total of 15,344 polling stations have been set up for the first phase of elections. Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar said all preparations for voting have been completed and polling personnel have reached stations. Mock polls began at 5.30 am, he said.