Ranchi, May 20 (PTI) Polling for three Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand began on Monday morning, marking the second phase of elections in the state and fifth nationally, officials said.

Voting began at 7 am in Chatra, Koderma and Hazaribag seats, and will continue till 5 pm.

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In this phase, 22 candidates are contesting from Chatra, 15 from Koderma, and 17 from Hazaribag.

Approximately 58.34 lakh voters, including 28.35 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in these three constituencies.

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Voting also began for the Gandey assembly by-poll in the state.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said this phase covers seven districts across three parliamentary constituencies, with polling materials and parties dispatched to 65 interior booths via choppers.

Kumar noted that there are a total of 6,705 booths, including 6,130 in rural areas, with 73 booths managed by women, 13 by persons with disabilities, and 13 by youths.

In Chatra parliamentary constituency, there are 16.89 lakh voters, including 8.27 lakh female electors, with 1,899 booths. Koderma has 22.05 lakh electors, including 10.65 lakh women, with 2,552 booths, while Hazaribagh constituency has 19.39 lakh voters, including 9.42 lakh women, and 2,254 booths.

Since the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct, illegal items and cash worth Rs 121.91 crore have been seized in the state.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won all three seats.

Campaigning for the second phase of elections in the state saw the intense exchange of words between BJP and Congress over issues like corruption, reservation, Constitution and poll promises.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)