Ranchi, Nov 20: Voting for the 38 constituencies across 12 districts of Jharkhand in the second and final phase of Assembly elections began on Wednesday morning amid tight security.

A total of 14,218 polling stations have been set up for this phase -- 2,414 are in urban areas, and 11,804 are in rural locations.

All security arrangements have been put in place, with 585 companies of central paramilitary forces, 60 companies of Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP), and 30,000 personnel from the district force and home guards deployed to ensure free and fair conduct of the elections.

While most polling stations will remain open until 5 p.m., 31 highly sensitive booths will close an hour earlier at 4 p.m.

The entire voting process is being monitored through webcasting, with cameras installed at all centres.

This phase covers constituencies in three divisions -- 18 each in Santhal Pargana and North Chotanagpur, and two in South Chotanagpur.

Among the seats, eight are reserved for Scheduled Tribes, three for Scheduled Castes, and 27 are general category seats. A total of 528 candidates are in the fray, and their fate will be decided by 1.23 crore voters.

Mandu in Hazaribagh district is the largest constituency in terms of area, while Jharia in Dhanbad is the smallest. Bokaro has the highest number of voters, with 5,82,101 registered, while Littipara in Santhal Pargana has the lowest voter count, with 2,17,388 voters.

Prominent candidates in this phase include Chief Minister Hemant Soren contesting from Barhait as a JMM candidate, BJP state president and Jharkhand’s first Chief Minister Babulal Marandi from Dhanwar, and Assembly Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato representing JMM from Nala.

Other notable figures are Congress’ Deepika Pandey Singh from Mahagama, Irfan Ansari from Jamtara, and AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto from Silli and Kalpana Soren, the Chief Minister’s wife, from Gandey in Giridih district..

The most keenly watched constituency is Barhait from where Hemant Soren is contesting. Representing the constituency since 2014, he seeks to extend the party’s unbroken dominance there since 1990.

Over a 35-day campaign, star campaigners from both sides organised more than 500 major rallies, focusing on issues deeply tied to Jharkhand's socio-cultural fabric, such as 'Roti, Beti, Maati' (livelihood, women, and land), tribal identity, and populist welfare schemes.

Votes will be counted on November 23.

--IANS

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