Jharkhand Polls Phase-1: 1.37 crore voters, 235 candidates are crorepatis, what is special in the first phase of elections?

The first phase of elections in Jharkhand is on Wednesday (November 13). In the first phase, voting will be held on 43 seats in 15 districts. Out of 43, 17 seats are reserved for general, 20 for scheduled tribes, and 6 for scheduled castes. A total of 683 candidates are trying their luck in the first phase. There are also 73 (11%) women candidates in the first phase.

First, let's know what is the election schedule.

Assembly elections will be held in Jharkhand in two phases. The nomination for the first phase was released on October 18 while the last date for nomination was October 25. The last date for withdrawal of candidature was October 30. In the first phase, voting will be held on 43 assembly seats on November 13 from 7 am to 5 pm. However, the voting time at 950 booths will end at 4 pm, although people standing in the queue at that time will be able to vote.

At the same time, the second phase of voting in the state will be held on November 20. The results of Jharkhand assembly elections will be declared on November 23 along with Maharashtra.

How many voters are there in the first phase?

Out of a total of 2.60 crore voters, 1.37 crore voters are eligible to participate in the voting to be held on November 13. Out of these, there are 41.88 lakh voters between the age of 18 to 30 years. In this phase, 995 voters above the age of 100 years will also be able to participate.

How many polling stations are there?

The Election Commission has set up a total of 15,344 polling stations in 43 assembly seats in the first phase. Of these, 12,716 booths are in rural areas and 2,628 in urban areas. More than 200 companies of security forces have been deployed in the concerned areas to conduct the voting peacefully. The Election Commission has taken some special steps to increase voter participation. Women will oversee the voting process at 1,152 polling stations and 24 polling stations will be operated by disabled persons.

About the candidates

A total of 683 candidates have contested in the first phase of elections in Jharkhand. According to Chief Electoral Officer K. Ravi Kumar, out of 683 candidates, 609 are men, 73 are women and one other candidate. Earlier, ADR had analyzed the affidavits of 682 out of 683 candidates contesting in the first phase of the Jharkhand assembly elections. Due to ambiguity in the affidavit, the details of independent candidate Brajendra Hemrom contesting from the Torpa (ST) seat were not included.

According to the ADR report, out of 682 candidates contesting in the first phase in 2024, 34 percent i.e. 235 candidates are Crorepatis. Talking about the average wealth of all these candidates is Rs 2.16 crore. There are 63 candidates whose assets are five crores or more.

Among the major parties in the first phase, 30 (83%) out of 36 candidates of BJP are crorepatis. After this, 18 out of 23 candidates of JMM (78%), 16 out of 17 candidates of Congress (94%), 7 out of 29 candidates of BSP (24%), 4 out of 5 candidates of RJD (80%) and 1 out of 2 candidates of JDU (100%) are crorepatis. All these candidates have declared assets worth more than one crore rupees.

The richest candidate has assets worth 80 crores.

The richest candidate of the first phase is the independent Kandomani Bhumij from the Potka (ST) seat of Singhbhum district. Bhumij's total assets are 80 crores. At number two is Congress candidate Krishna Nand Tripathi from Daltonganj of Palamu, whose assets are 70.91 crores. At the same time, Ayush Ranjan, who contested as an independent from Ranchi seat, is the third richest candidate. Ayush's total assets are 70.55 crores.

How educated are the candidates?

ADR has also provided details of the education of the candidates in its report. According to the report, 308 (45%) candidates have declared their educational qualification between 5th and 12th class, while 348 (51%) candidates have declared their educational qualification as graduation or above. 6 candidates are diploma holders. Apart from this, 18 candidates have declared themselves as only literate, and 2 candidates are illiterate.

How old are the candidates?

ADR's report also includes details of the age of the candidates. 267 (39%) candidates have declared their age between 25 to 40 years, while 348 (51%) candidates have declared their age between 41 to 60 years. There are 67 (10%) candidates who have declared their age between 61 to 80 years.

According to ADR, 174 out of 682 candidates (26%) have criminal cases registered against them. Whereas 127 candidates (19 percent) have serious criminal cases registered against them.