Mon Nov 11 16:27:00 UTC 2024: ## Jharkhand Assembly Elections Kick Off Amidst Heated Campaigning
**New Delhi, November 11, 2024:** The first phase of Jharkhand Assembly elections, along with bypolls in 33 Assembly constituencies and the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala, commenced today. Polling officials were seen transporting EVMs and election materials to LWE-affected areas by helicopter.
The campaign for the first phase, which saw high-profile candidates including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra making her electoral debut in Wayanad, came to an end yesterday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah spearheaded the BJP’s campaign, launching scathing attacks on the Congress, JMM, and RJD. Shah promised the formation of a committee to identify and expel ‘infiltrators’ from the state if the BJP were to win. Modi accused the Congress of failing to deliver on its promises.
The BJP accused the JMM coalition government of allowing “Bangladeshi infiltrators” into Jharkhand, a claim vehemently denied by the INDIA bloc. The Congress focused on the issue of a caste census during the campaign.
Meanwhile, an FIR was registered against the BJP’s Jharkhand unit for violating the model code of conduct, following a complaint from the Congress. The BJP is accused of posting misleading videos against INDIA bloc leaders on social media.
Jharkhand will hold polls in two phases: 43 Assembly constituencies on November 13 and the remaining 38 on November 20. Key contests in the first phase include Seraikella, Ranchi, Jamshedpur West, Jaganathpur, and Jamshedpur East.
In Wayanad, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is facing off against BJP’s Navya Haridas and CPI’s Sathyan Mokeri. The byelection was necessitated after Rahul Gandhi vacated the seat following his Lok Sabha victory from Raebareli.
The West Bengal bypolls saw a war of words between the ruling TMC and the Election Commission over alleged misuse of central forces. The EC issued a notice to BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar for his alleged remarks ‘insulting the national emblem’ while rejecting the TMC’s allegations of delay.
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