Over 66L J'khand voters to seal fate of 67 nominees on May 12

Ranchi: Jharkhand minister Chandraprakash Choudhary, former cricketer Kirti Azad and ex-chief minister Madhu Koda's wife Gita are among the 67 candidates whose fate will be sealed in the third phase of Jharkhand polls on Sunday.

Polling will be held between 7 am and 4 pm in four Lok Sabha constituencies -- Dhanbad, Giridih, Jamshedpur and Singhbhum (ST) -- all won by the BJP in 2014.

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Altogether, 66,85,401 voters, including 31,79,720 women and 116 of the third gender, will be exercising their franchise in 8,300 polling stations, amid tight security.

In Giridih, NDA candidate and Ajsu Party leader Choudhary is taking on JMM MLA Jagarnath Mahato. The BJP's decision to give up its traditional bastion in favour of its ally had baffled many within the party, but the central leadership had argued that it was a "calculated decision".

Former all-rounder Azad, who had won the Darbhanga seat in Bihar in 2014, has been nominated by the Congress from Dhanbad this time, as per the seat-sharing arrangement of the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance).

Azad has been pitted against BJP's PN Singh, a two- time MP from the seat.

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In Jamshedpur constituency, BJP's B B Mahato is up against JMM MLA Champai Soren and 21 other candidates, while former chief minister Madhu Koda's wife and Congress candidate Gita is taking on the saffron party's state unit chief Laxman Gilua in Singhbhum (ST) seat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had canvassed for Gilua in Singhbhum on May 6.

According to an election official, a total of 28,37,005 voters are in the age group of 26 to 40 in the third phase of polls.

Of the 8,300 polling stations, 886 have webcasting facilities and 85 will be guarded by women, he said.

The Election Commission has appointed 36,464 polling personnel, four general observers, eight expenditure observers and four police observers for Sunday's election.

As part of the security arrangements, 175 companies of paramilitary forces and 52 companies of state police have been deployed across the four constituencies, the official said.

Three helicopters have been pressed into service for air surveillance, he added.

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(PTI)