Polling begins for third phase of Jharkhand polls

Voting began Tuesday morning for the third phase of Jharkhand assembly polls, an official said.

Voting began Tuesday morning for the third phase of Jharkhand assembly polls, an official said.

Voting began at 7 a.m. Third phase of polling will cover 11 of the 81 assembly seats and decide the electoral fate of 273 candidates.

The 11 assembly seats covered in the third phase are - Bermo, Bokaro, Chankyarai, Dhanwar, Bagodar, Jamua, Hazaribagh, Shikaruipara, Dumka, Jarmundi and Jama. Half of the assembly seats are situated in Maoist strongholds areas.

Heavy security arrangements have been made for peaceful polling. "Roads have been covered by the security forces and we are also seeking air force helicopters for peaceful polling," said V.H. Deshmukh, Jharkhand police spokesperson told IANS.

In this phase of polling, the fate of five former ministers including former deputy chief minister Stephen Marandi will be decided. The other key candidates are Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Rajya Sabha member and son of Shibu Soren, Hemant Soren and Shailendra Mahto.

In the first and second phase, polling took place for 26 and 14 seats on Nov 25 and Dec 2 respectively. The five phase polling will end Dec 18 and counting will take place Dec 23.

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