The stage is set for voting in the first phase of the Jharkhand Assembly elections on Wednesday in 43 constituencies spread across different parts of the mineral-rich state.

The polling is scheduled to commence at 7 am in 15,344 polling stations amid tight security to avert any untoward incident and culminate at 5 pm.

A total of 683 candidates are in the fray in the first phase of the assembly election whose fates would be decided by 1.37 crore voters. Of the 683 candidates, the total number of women candidates is 73.

In the first phase, at stake is the prestige of several ministers in the Hemant Soren-led Cabinet and key leaders from different political parties. Prominent among them include former Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren, Rameshwar Oraon, Mithilesh Thakur, Banna Gupta, and Deepak Birua.

Former chief minister Soren, who parted ways with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) following his rift with senior party leader Hemant Soren and joined BJP, is contesting from his stronghold in Saraikela.

In the Lohardaga Assembly seat, Oraon, a Congress Minister in Hemant Soren Cabinet is pitted against Neeru Shanti Bhagat of the AJSU Party while Thakur is defending his seat against BJP nominee Satyendra Nath Tiwari and Samajwadi Party’s former Minister Girinath Singh from Garhwa constituency.

Notably, the leaders of the JMM-Congress-led alliance and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) left no stone unturned in wooing the electorate during their respective campaigns. Besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president JP Nadda, key leaders from the saffron party who campaigned extensively in the state include Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while from the Congress side, its National President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi were in the forefront.

Jharkhand is in for a direct contest between the ruling JMM-Congress-led alliance and the BJP-led NDA in the Assembly polls.

The polling for the final phase in 38 Assembly constituencies will take place on 20th November. The counting of votes would take place along with Maharashtra on 23rd November.