Jharkhand assembly elections to be held in 5 phases from Nov 30

Elections in Jharkhand’s 81 assembly constituencies will be held in five phases beginning 30 November, the Election Commission of India announced on Friday. Counting of votes will take place on 23 December.

In the first phase on 30 November, voting will be held on 13 assembly seats. Then, 20 constituencies will vote on December 7, 17 constituencies on December 12, 15 constituencies on December 16. In the fifth round, voting will take place on 16 assembly seats on December 20 and the results will be out three days later.

“There were a lot of sensitivities in our mind… We should finish before Christmas (December 25),” Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said at a media briefing. Arora said the model code of conduct for political parties has kicked in for the state with this announcement.

The term of the outgoing assembly expires on 1 January 2020.

The five-phase poll has been necessitated on account of Maoist violence in the state.

Four out of every five assembly constituencies in the state, a total of 67 constituencies, are affected by Maoist violence, Arora said, stressing that special security arrangements have been made for the state’s Maoist-affected districts.