Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan cast his ballot on Saturday morning during the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections at his assigned polling station. He encouraged voters to focus on development issues and urged them to turn out in large numbers.
“My only appeal to the voters of Jharkhand is that you all must come out and vote. I have voted for development. I am always interested in development because it’s the only way to create wealth, which can then be distributed. Nothing will eradicate poverty other than wealth, and wealth creation is possible only through development,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Sanjay Seth, the incumbent MP from Ranchi and BJP candidate seeking a second term, was seen casting his vote during the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. He mentioned that he prayed to Nandi Baba for Prime Minister Modi’s success.
“I sought blessings from Nandi Baba and asked him to make Prime Minister Modi and his vision of ‘Abhi Baar 400 Paar’ more powerful,” said Seth.
He also urged voters to make Ranchi a role model by achieving a high voter turnout. “I prayed to Nandi Baba for Ranchi’s voter turnout to reach around 80 percent. I appeal to all residents to come out and vote in large numbers to make Ranchi a role model for the nation, despite the intense heatwave,” he added.
Voting for the sixth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections began on Saturday morning across 58 parliamentary constituencies spread over six states and two Union Territories (UTs) amid tight security and arrangements. Voting commenced at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm, with those in line by closing time still allowed to vote.
This phase of the Lok Sabha polls includes eight seats in Bihar, all 10 seats in Haryana, one seat in Jammu and Kashmir, four in Jharkhand, all seven seats in Delhi, six in Odisha, 14 in Uttar Pradesh, and eight in West Bengal, with a total of 889 candidates in the fray.
According to data from the Election Commission, Jharkhand recorded a 11.74 percent voter turnout by 9 am. The four constituencies in Jharkhand participating in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections are Ranchi, Dhanbad, Giridih, and Jamshedpur.
Notably, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is part of the INDIA bloc and is contesting the elections in alliance with the Congress in both Jharkhand and Odisha. Meanwhile, the AJSU Party is aligned with the BJP-led NDA alliance.
In the 2019 elections, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured 12 seats in Jharkhand, with the BJP alone winning 11. The JMM and Congress each won one seat.
The general elections are being conducted in seven phases, with the counting scheduled for June 4.