Category: Jharkhand

Jharkhand poll: Voting for 12 seats ends, 57.96 per cent votes cast.

Source – newindianexpress.com

RANCHI: Voting ended for 12 of the 17 assembly seats at 3 p.m. in the third phase of the polls with 57.96 per cent votes being cast on Thursday.

The voting will end at 5 p.m. for the Ranchi, Hatia, Kanke, Ramgarh and Barkatha assembly seats.

Jharkahnd Governor Draupdi Murmu cast her vote at ATI Ranchi while AJSU president Sudesh Mahtyo cast his vote along with his wife at Silli. Jayant Sinha cast his vote in Hazaribagh.

In the third phase the key candidates are three ministers — CP Singh, Ramchandra Sahis and Neera Yadav, Former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi and former Deputy Chief Minister and All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) president Sudesh Mahto.

Of the 17 seats, BJP, JMM and Congress had won 10, three and two seats respectively in the 2014 Assembly elections.

There is a direct fight on between the BJP, Congress and JMM candidates on seven seats. For the Silli seat the fight is between AJSU president Sudesh Mahto and JMM sitting legislator Seema Devi. There is a triangular fight on six seats. For some seats the fight is four-cornered or multi-cornered.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jharkahnd Chief Minister Raghubar Das have appealed to the voters to cast their votes.

Jharkhand polls: PM Modi urges people to vote in large numbers.

Source – indiatoday.in

As polling for the third phase of the Jharkhand Assembly elections kick-started today morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to vote in large numbers.

“The third phase of Jharkhand polls will take place today. Urging all those whose seats go to the polls today to vote in large numbers. I particularly urge my young friends to vote,” the Prime Minister tweeted.

The third of the five-phase elections of Jharkhand Assembly elections began on Thursday and will decide the fate of legislators in 17 seats out of the 81 assembly constituencies.

A total of 309 candidates, including 32 women, are contesting from 17 assembly seats. The constituencies, including two reserved for SC candidates and one ST candidate, going to vote on Thursday are spread over eight districts in the state.

The first phase of the election in the state took place on November 30 while the second round was held on December 7.

The fourth phase will be conducted on December 16, and the fifth and last phase on December 20.

The counting of votes will take place on December 23.

Maoist-hit areas vote today in round three of Jharkhand polls.

Source – hindustantimes.com

Voting is underway to pick legislators from 17 seats of the 81 assembly constituencies of Jharkhand on Thursday in the third round of the five-phase election, amid heavy security.

The Election Commission has made heavy deployment of security forces, as 12 constituencies out of total 17 are stated to be under the influence of left-wing extremism (LWE).

Chief electoral officer Vinay Kumar Choubey said, “Like previous phases, there are some LWE-affected pockets in the third phase as well. In view of this, we have heli dropped polling personnel in 96 polling stations. Besides, 10 polling booths have been relocated due to security reasons.”

A total of three helicopters have been deployed to ferry the polling officials in sensitive areas, he added.

Out of 7,016 polling stations across 17 constituencies in eight districts, a total of 1,008 booths have been declared hyper-LWE sensitive, while 543 polling stations are LWE sensitive. Altogether 1,119 booths have been declared non-LWE hyper sensitive, while 2,672 are non-LWE sensitive booths, election officials said.

A crucial phase for the ruling BJP and the Opposition alliance, a group of three parties comprising Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), it will also decide the fate of two Cabinet ministers (CP Singh and Neera Yadav), former minister Rajendra Singh, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) chief Babulal Marandi and All Jharkhand Students Union or AJSU Party supremo Sudesh Mahto.

A total of 309 candidates, including 32 women, are contesting from 17 assembly seats. Besides, two Cabinet ministers, seven other sitting legislators — JP Yadav, Manish Jaiswal, Rajkumar Yadav, Yogeshwar Mahto, Sadhucharan Mahto, Ramkumar Pahan and Naveen Jaiswal — are also fighting to retain their seats.

Riding on the magic of prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP, which contesting from 16 seats, is confident of bagging the maximum number of seats in this phase. BJP had grabbed nine seats in the 2014 assembly elections. The alliance, which has fielded candidates in all 17 seats, is also hoping big gains from the phase.

In past assembly elections, Congress and JMM won two seats each, while Babulal Marandi led JVM-P bagged two seats. AJSU Party and CPI-M shared one seat each.

According to a report by the Association for Democratic Reform (ADR), which has analysed the affidavits of all 309 candidates in the fray, a total of 91 candidates with criminal charges are contesting the polls in the third phase and 62 of them have serious criminal cases against them.

ASJU Party has fielded the maximum number of candidates with criminal charges (10), while BJP has put up eight and the alliance six. JVM-P’s eight candidates out of the total 17 in the fray for the third phase have declared criminal cases against them.

Buoyed by the encouraging voters turnout in the first phase (64.22%) and second phase (65.15%), the poll panel expects the turnout to be higher in the third phase. To attract the maximum number of voters, the Election Commission has declared 329 polling stations as model booths, of which 44 would be operated by women.

Jharkhand HC Grants Bail to Six People Arrested in Tabrez Ansari Lynching Case.

Source – thewire.in

Ranchi: The Jharkhand high court on Tuesday granted bail to six people arrested in connection with the lynching of Tabrez Ansari in June.

Justice R. Mukhopadhyay granted bail to the six after their advocate A.K. Sahani informed the court that their names were not mentioned in the FIR registered in connection with Ansari’s death. Main accused Papu Mandal had also not implicated them during his interrogation by the police.

The advocate told the court that the six – Bhimsen Mandal, Chamu Nayak, Mahesh Mahali, Satyanarayan Nayak, Madan Nayak, and Vikram Mandal – had been in jail since June 25.

Ansari was thrashed by a mob on June 17 at Dhatkidih village in Seraikela-Kharsawan district when he and two of his associates allegedly tried to enter a house with an intention to commit theft, a senior police officer had said then.

The police reached the spot the next morning and took Ansari to jail on the basis of a complaint lodged by the villagers, the police officer said.

When Ansari’s condition deteriorated in jail, he was taken to the Sadar hospital in Seraikela-Kharsawan where he was diagnosed with multiple injuries, he said.

Later, he was referred to the Tata Main Hospital in Jamshedpur where he died on June 22, the police officer said.

As The Wire has reported before, the police’s role in the case has come under question from the very beginning. When Ansari was taken into custody, the police did not file a case against the people who had attacked him. That case was filed only after his death, based on a complaint from his wife. A fact-finding team from the Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha had also found that the police had denied Ansari proper medical treatment and also threatened his family.

Ansari’s death became a matter of concern for the police only after a video of the mob attacking him went viral on social media. A probe panel appointed by the district administration also found lapses on the police’s part, and said that doctors at the first hospital Ansari was taken to were also responsible as they cleared him for custody despite severe head injuries.

The police had also removed the murder charge against 11 accused in the case. The charge was brought back after widespread condemnation.

Stage Set for Third Phase of Polling in Jharkhand: Can BJP Continue its Success Story This Time?

Source – news18.com

New Delhi: The 17 constituencies that go to polls on Thursday in the third phase of the Jharkhand Assembly elections have returned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the single-largest party in two of the three state elections held in the state since its formation in 2000. The latest phase is also the second-largest in terms of seats contested after phase two.

Of the 17 seats — Barhi, Barkagaon, Barkatha, Bermo, Dhanwar, Gomia, Hatia, Hazaribagh, Ichagarh, Kanke, Khijri, Kodarma, Mandu, Ramgarh, Ranchi, Silli, and Simaria — the BJP has never lost in the two constituencies of Ranchi and Kanke. The saffron party has won three other seats twice during the state elections held in Jharkhand in 2005, 2009, and 2014.

The BJP had secured nine of these 17 seats in 2005 with a contested vote-share of 25% across the 15 seats from where it fielded its candidates.

These constituencies, including two reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates and one Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidate, are spread over eight districts.

The fate of 309 candidates, including 32 women nominees, will be decided in the 17 constituencies with 56,18,267 electorate (eligible to exercise their franchise), the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) told a press conference here. The electorate includes 26,80,205 women and 86 third-gender voters.

As many as 62 (20%) candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves, according to an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

At least 10 of these candidates have declared cases related to ‘crime against women’, two have cases related to ‘murder’, and 13 others have cases related to ‘attempt to murder’. Another 77 (25%) are crorepatis, with the average assets per member at Rs 1.24 crore.

The party suffered a setback in 2009 when it was reduced to just four seats, despite retaining its vote-share. It made a comeback in 2014 riding on the Narendra Modi wave. In 2014, it returned seven MLAs and increased its vote-share (contested) to almost 40%.

The opposition to the BJP in these seats has been scattered. For instance, the Congress emerged as the most successful party in six of the 13 seats where it fielded candidates in 2009 and managed to garner 26% of the votes.

Besides, the grand old party had won three seats in 2005 and just two in 2014 when it was reduced to just 14.7% of the vote-share (in 13 contested seats).

The Congress party’s alliance partner in the current elections, Jharkhand Mukti Mocha (JMM), has also fared poorly. The party secured just a single seat each in 2005 and 2009 before increasing its tally to three in 2014.

Former chief minister Babulal Marandi’s Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), which contested for the first time in 2009, has won three seats each during the last two assembly elections.

The BJP’s former ally, the All Jharkhand Students’ Union (AJSU) party, had also won two seats each in 2005 and 2009. In 2014, it could win only Ramgarh, a seat it has retained in the last three elections.

Among the candidates, Marandi, Urban Development Minister CP Singh and Education Minister Neera Yadav are in the fray. While Marandi is contesting from the Dhanwar seat, Singh and Yadav are contesting from Ranchi and Kodarma constituencies, respectively.

Former deputy chief minister and AJSU party president Sudesh Mahto is trying his luck to regain Silli seat after he lost the 2014 Assembly polls and the subsequent bypoll to JMM candidates Amit Mahato and his wife Seema Mahato respectively.

The BJP has not fielded candidates from Silli though the NDA allies are fighting the polls separately, for the first time since the states creation.

Meanwhile, about 40,000 polling personnel have been deputed to conduct smooth and peaceful voting in the third of the five-phase polling, Jharkhand Chief Election Officer Vinay Kumar Choubey said on Wednesday.

Stating that there are LWE (left wing extremist) pockets in this phase, Choubey said that personnel of 96 polling stations have been dropped by helicopters and 10 polling stations have been re-located on security grounds.

“Personnel of 188 polling stations were sent two days ago and have reached there and almost all the officials to other booths have reached,” Choubey said.

The polling personnel of 626 polling stations will return to their respective district headquarters on Friday and arrangements of CCTV and double-lock strong rooms have been made, the CEO said.

He added if any political parties desired to send their agents to stay there could do so.

The CEO said that there are 13,504 ballot units, 8,772 controlling units and 9,123 VVPAT in the 17 seats with double ballot units being set up in nine of the constituencies as there are 16 or more candidates in the fray.

A total of 2,014 polling stations have webcasting facilities, 329 model polling stations and 44 polling stations will be conducted by women polling personnel, he said. Of the total 7,016 polling stations set up for the third-phase, 1,008 are marked as ‘critical’ and 543 ‘sensitive’ in Naxal-affected areas.

While 1,119 polling stations are ‘critical’ and 2,672 polling stations are ‘sensitive’ in the non-Naxal affected areas, he added. The voting will commence at 7am and end at 5pm at Ranchi, Hatia, Kanke, Barkatha and Ramgarh seats, while voters in the rest of the constituencies can exercise franchise between 7am and 3pm.

The first-phase polling for 13 seats and the second-phase for 20 Assembly segments had concluded on November 30 and December 7, respectively. The fourth and the fifth phases polling for 15 and 16 seats will be held on December 16 and 20, respectively. Counting to the 81-member House is slated on December 23.

Drunk CRPF jawan kills 2 including commanding officer in Jharkhand.

Source – indiatoday.in

A “drunk” jawan allegedly shot dead two CRPF personnel, including an officer, and injured another at his camp in poll-bound Jharkhand, officials said on Tuesday, in the second incident of fratricide in the central armed police forces in less than a week.

The incident took place at the ‘charlie’ company of the 226th battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force in Bokaro on Monday around 9:30 pm, they said.

The CRPF unit was deployed for polls in Jharkhand, where voting for two phases has been completed and three more are to be held.

A senior CRPF officer said the reason that triggered the shooting was not known yet. But other officials claimed constable Deepender Yadav was drunk when he started the shooting.

They identified those killed as Assistant Commandant Shahul Harshan B, 28, and Assistant Sub-Inspector Purnanand Bhuyan, 47. Constable Yadav is among the two injured.

The injured have been moved out to the state capital Ranchi.

Senior CRPF and state police officials have reached the camp and a Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been ordered.

On Dec 4, an ITBP soldier allegedly opened fire at his colleagues in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district and killed five personnel and injured two. He then killed himself.

A preliminary investigation has found the soldier had a “dispute” with the five he killed, sources have said. A CoI is being conducted.

The sources have added that the ITBP soldier had stated to his unit commander in July that he will avail leave to go home in December.

Jharkhand Assembly polls: Campaigning for Phase-III ends, voting on Dec 12.

Source – business-standard.com

Campaigning in 17 Jharkhand assembly constituencies ended on Tuesday as the third of the five-phase polling in the seats will be held on December 12.

According to the Election Commissions latest updated list of voters about 56.18 lakh electorate, including female and third gender voters, are eligible to decide the fate of 309 candidates, including 32 women nominees in the 17 constituencies.

In all, 7016 polling stations have been set up to conduct smooth polling, an EC release said.

The voting will commence at 7 am and end at 5 pm on Thursday at Ranchi, Hatia, Kanke, Barkatha and Ramgarh seats while voters in the rest of the constituencies can exercise their franchise between 7 am and 3 pm, Election Commission officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned in favour of BJP. Besides him, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP Working President J P Nadda and Union minister Smriti Irani sought vote for nominees of the saffron party at different places.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha addressed election meetings in support of party candidates in separate areas.

According to police sources, adequate security personnel, including central para-military and the state police forces have been deployed for a smooth and peaceful conduct of the voting.

Notable candidates in the electoral arena are Jharkhand Education Minister and BJP candidate Neera Yadav (Koderma), Urban Development Minister and BJP nominee C P Singh (Ranchi) and sitting MLAs of different parties.

Former chief minister and president of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) Babulal Marandi is contesting Dhanwar seat.

Former deputy chief minister and AJSU party president Sudesh Mahto is crossing swords with sitting JMM MLA Seema Mahato from Silli assembly seat.

Former minister and Congress candidate Rajendra Prasad Singh is taking on sitting BJP MLA Yogeshwar Mahato from Bermo.

“Booth app” has been launched in 10 of the 81 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand as a pilot project and in the third-phase Hazaribag, Ranchi and Ramgarh constituencies will have the booth-app facility to give real-time voting percentage and other information, the release said.

The 17 constituencies, including two reserved for SC candidates and one ST nominees, are spread over eight districts.

The seats where polling will be held are Kodarma, Barkatha, Barhi, Barkagaon, Ramgarh, Mandu, Hazaribag, Simaria (SC), Dhanwar, Gomia, Bermo, Ichagarh, Silli, Khijri (ST), Ranchi, Hatia and Kanke (SC), an EC release said.

The BJP has nominated candidates in 16 of the 17 seats in this phase, a party leader said.

The Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) has fielded candidates in all the seats in the third-phase, JVM (P) spokesman Saroj Singh said.

The opposition alliance comprising the JMM, Congress and the RJD have fielded candidates in the constituencies as per their pre-poll seat adjustments.

The AJSU party, Lok Jan Shakti Party, Aam Admi Party, Samajwadi Party, CPI, CPI (ML-Liberation), All India Trinamool Congress, Hindustani Awami Morcha (Secular), Shiv Sena, Janata Dal (United), All India Forward Bloc and some other parties have put up candidates in selective constituencies.

The first-phase polling for 13 seats and the second-phase for 20 assembly segments had concluded on November 30 and December 7 respectively.

The fourth and the fifth phases polling for 15 and 16 seats will be held on December 16 and 20 respectively.

Counting to the 81-member House is slated on December 23.

Jharkhand elections: Parties not walking talk on women candidates.

Source – newindianexpress.com

RANCHI: While parties of all hues pledged 50 per cent reservation for women in government jobs, in their respective manifestoes for the ongoing Jharkhand Assembly elections, none have come even close to walking the talk by giving enough tickets to women candidates.

The parties, which promised to reserve 33 per cent tickets for women candidates, have failed to put even 17 per cent women on their tickets.While former chief minister Babulal Marandi’s Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) could put 11 women in fray, the most of all the contesting parties, the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) came a close second, fielding 9 women candidates. The JVM announced nominees for all seats in the 81-member Assembly, the AJSU named candidates for 52.

However, in terms of percentage of women representation, JVM lags AJSU by 3.4%. While the percentage of AJSU’s women candidates stands at 16.9 per cent, the JVM falls marginally behind at 13.5 per cent.
At seven, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded the third most women candidates, while the Congress lags with a paltry 5 per cent. While the BJP is contesting 80 seats, the Congress is in fray in 31. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) fares even worse, with just 6 of its 43 candidates being women.
Political experts said the primary reason why the parties shied away from giving more tickets to women is that they are not taken seriously by voters, unless they are accomplished names in politics or other fields.
“Another reason why women leaders aren’t considered for tickets is that they are not as active in the field as their male counterparts. Most step out of their homes only when they are named candidates,” said a political expert, asking not to be named.

Only women who have established themselves in the field of politics are wooed for tickets by parties, he added.The contesting parties, however, asserted that winability, not gender, is the only criterion when it comes to deciding their poll candidates.

Maoists trigger IED blast, 2 CoBRA personnel hurt
Maoists triggered an IED blast near the Vijaygiri hillock, in the Tamar police station area of Ranchi on Sunday morning. The attack left two personnel of Commando Battalions for Resolute Action, (CoBRA) injured. The security personnel were escorting a polling party when the explosive device was detonated. Police said both the injured personnel are believed to be out of danger. “The CoBRA personnel were sent to escort polling officials on their way back from a booth,” ML Meena, ADG (Operations) and spokesperson for Jharkhand Police, said.

Won’t spare anyone if provoked: Rajnath
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said India never provoked any nation, but, if incited, it would not spare anyone. Addressing a poll meeting at Jharia in Jharkhand, he said the measures taken by the Narendra Modi-led government to curb terrorism have cemented India’s reputation as one of the strongest nations in the world. “Our intention is clear. Our policy is clear…Hum duniya ke kisi desh ko chhedenge naihin; lekin jo hum ko chhedega, hum chhodenge nahin (we will never provoke any country, but, if provoked, will not spare anyone),” the Union minister said.

Jharkhand Assembly Election 2019: CM Raghubar Das, Speaker Dinesh Oraon among big names in second phase.

Source – hindustantimes.com

Chief minister Raghubar Das, state assembly Speaker Dinesh Oraon, former state food supply minister Saryu Roy and the BJP’s state unit president Laxman Gilua are among the key contestants in the second phase of assembly election in Jharkhand on Saturday.

Raghubar Das is locked in a bitter battle with his former cabinet colleague and now Independent candidate Saryu Roy in his home constituency of Jamshedpur-East.

The BJP’s state unit president Laxman Gilua is fighting it out against the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s (JMM’s) Sukhram Oraon in Chakradharpur seat. Sukhram Oraon is the former member of legislative assembly (MLA) from the seat.

Everyone’s eyes are also on Chakradharpur because of the contest between sitting MLA Shashi Bhusan Samad as the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) candidate and All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) Party nominee Ram Lal Munda.

The chief minister has promised to make it a district if voted to power.

In Sisai seat, state assembly speaker and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate Dinesh Oraon is caught in a direct fight with JMM candidate Jigga Susaran Horo. Dinesh Oraon had won the seat in 2014.

The state’s rural development and parliamentary Neelkanth Singh Munda is facing an uphill task in his home constituency Khunti with JMM’s Sushil Pahan as his rival in the Jharkhand Assembly Election 2019.

JVM-P candidate and social activist Dayamani Barla has made it a triangular fight in Khunti, where controversial Patthalgadi movement ruled the roost for over a year and is plagued by tribal anger and unrest for long.

Tamar is another seat of interest in the Jharkhand Assembly Election 2019 where the JMM’s Vikas Munda, son of former minister Ramesh Singh Munda, is taking on the BJP’s Rita Devi.

Surrendered Maoist commander Kundan Pahan and former minister Raja Peter, both in jail for Ramesh Singh Munda’s murder, are also contesting from the seat. Peter had earlier defeated former chief minister Sibu Soren.

The BJP and JMM are in a direct fight in the three districts of Kolhan where 13 assembly seats are polling.

The BJP had five seats in East Singhbhum and erstwhile ally AJSU Party had one seat in East Singhbhum. The JMM, on the other hand, had all the five seats in West Singhbhum and both the seats in Seraikela-Kharsawan district in 2014.

More than 48,25,000 voters will choose their representatives among the 260 candidates in the second phase of the Jharkhand Assembly Elections 2019.

The first phase was held on November 30. The fifth and final phase of polling will take place on December 20 and votes will be counted on December 23.

Jharkhand Assembly Election 2019: 1 dead, 2 injured in police firing at polling booth.

Source – hindustantimes.com

A villager was killed and two others were injured after police opened fire to control a mob pelting stones on security forces at a polling booth in Jharkhand’s Sisai assembly segment on Saturday.

Eight others, including the officer-in-charge of Sisai police station, two constables and a journalist, were also injured in the stone-pelting incident.

The incident took place at booth number 36 in Badhni village under Gumla district.

“Villagers tried to snatch arms from Rapid Protection Force (RPF) deployed at the polling booth. In order to control the mob, police had to open fire in which one person died and two others received bullet injuries on thigh and shoulder. They are reportedly out of danger and have been shifted to Ranchi hospital,” Jharkhand’s chief electoral officer Vinay Choubey said.

“Voting has been stopped at the said booth. There is all probability that a re-polling on this booth will be announced,” Choubey added.

According to police, supporters of two different political parties entered into a brawl at the booth. Police personnel deployed there interfered but they picked up a fight with the forces as well.

Villagers started snatching arms from police and pelted stones on them compelling the forces to launch a crackdown in self-defence, officials said.

The villager who died was identified as Gilani Ansari and those who received bullet injuries in the police firing as Asfaq Ansari and Khoofa Ansari.

Officer-in-charge of Sisai police station Vishnu Dev Choudhary, police constables Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul, police driver Sitaram Singh, journalist Sitaram Singh and three villagers were injured in the stone-pelting.

All the injured were rushed to Gumla Sadar Hospital for treatment.

Additional forces have been rushed to the spot. Gumla’s superintendent of police AK Jha and other senior officials of district administration were camping in the village.

Voting for the second phase of Jharkhand Assembly Election 2019 in 20 assembly constituencies began at 7am on Saturday.

In Sisai, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) candidate and assembly Speaker Dinesh Oraon is in a direct fight with JMM’s nominee Jigga Susaran Horo.