Ranchi, Oct 22 (IANS) The Election Commission on Tuesday issued notification for the second phase of the Jharkhand Assembly elections, covering 38 seats, starting the nomination process for candidates. Polling for this phase is scheduled for November 20.

Candidates can file their nominations until October 29, with the scrutiny of forms set for October 30. The last day for withdrawing nominations is November 1.

The first phase of polling, covering 43 seats, will take place on November 13. The notification for first phase elections was issued on October 18, and candidates can submit their nominations until October 25 for the first phase. Scrutiny will be conducted on October 28, and the deadline for withdrawals is October 30.

More than 30 candidates have already filed their nominations for the first phase, both online and offline submissions are being accepted.

The seats covered in the second phase include Rajmahal, Borio, Barhait, Littipara, Pakur, Maheshpur, Shikaripara, Nala, Jamtara, Dumka, Jama, Jarmundi, Madhupur, Sarath, Deoghar, Poreyahat, Godda, Mahagama, Ramgarh, Mandu, Dhanwar, Bagodar, Jamua, Gandey, Giridih, Dumri, Gomia, Bermo, Bokaro, Chandankyari, Sindri, Nirsa, Dhanbad, Jharia, Tundi, Baghmara, Silli and Khijri.

Approximately 2.6 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in these elections, with 29,562 polling stations set up across the state. Of these, 5,042 booths are located in urban areas, with an average of 881 voters per booth.

The electoral contest is mainly between the NDA and the India Bloc. The NDA has announced candidates for 77 out of 81 seats, while Congress, a member of the India Bloc, has released its list of candidates for 21 seats.

However, JMM, RJD, and CPI(ML) are yet to officially declare their candidates, though a few notable JMM candidates have already filed nominations, including Mithilesh Thakur (Garhwa), Anant Pratap Dev (Bhawanathpur), Sanjeev Sardar (Potka), and Mangal Kalindi (Jugsalai).

The counting of votes is scheduled for November 23. In the first phase, elections will be held in 43 constituencies while in the second phase, 38 seats will go to polls out of a total of 81 seats.