Ranchi: The third of the five-phase elections
for 11 seats will be held tomorrow amid tight security in
Jharkhand, with rival parties highlighting the Madhu Koda scam
and price rise issues to woo voters in the long drawn campaign
in the state.
A total of 25,41,042 voters will exercise their franchise
in Hazaribagh, Dhanwar, Bagodar, Jamua, Bermo, Bokaro,
Chandankiari, Shikaripara, Dumka, Jama and Jarmundi with the
first five seats having Naxal-pockets.
In all 237 candidates, including 115 Independents, are in
the fray with Bokaro having maximum of 45 aspirants and
Dhanwar registering the minimum with ten candidates.
Elections for 40 of the total 81 seats were completed in
the first two phases on November 25 and December 2.
The fourth phase is scheduled on December 12 and the
fifth and final round of the elections will be held on
December 18. Results will be announced on December 23.
Politicians continue to trade charges on the multi-crore
Koda scam and spiralling price rise, and asked voters to cast
their vote for stability.
While the Congress termed Koda as a BJP `prodigy`, the
saffron party alleged that the Congress could not escape
accountability as all the UPA allies had `tasted madhu
(honey)` during the erstwhile Koda-led government in the
state.
IANS
