Voting begins in Jharkhand assembly polls

Balloting began Tuesday in 17 of the 81 assembly constituencies in the third round of the five-phase elections in Jharkhand, officials said.

Over 50 lakh voters, including 23.5 lakh women, will decide the political fate of 289 candidates in the fray. Polling will take place in 5,865 polling booths.

Voting started at 7 a.m. and will end at 3 p.m. in 15 seats while balloting will continue till 5 p.m. in two constituencies.

Former chief minister Babulal Marandi, former assembly speaker C.P. Singh, Annapurna Devi of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Rajendra Prasad Singh of the Congress and Jai Prakash Bhai Patel of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha are among the prominent candidates in this phase. - IANS