Srinagar, Dec 20: Polling began Saturday in the fifth and final phase of the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, poll officials said.
Twenty constituencies spread over Jammu, Kathua and Rajouri districts of Jammu region will elect their representatives to the 87-member legislative assembly in this phase.
Balloting also began in 16 of the 81 assembly constituencies in the last round of the five-phase elections in Jharkhand, officials said. Over 36 lakh voters, including more than 17 lakh women, will decide the fate of 208 candidates -- 16 of them women -- in the fray.
Balloting will take place at 3,773 polling booths out of which 833 booths have been declared as very sensitive, while another 1,496 have been declared sensitive.
Voting began at 7 a.m. and will take place till 3 p.m.
The fate of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), will be decided in this phase. Soren, who is the sitting legislator from Dumka, is contesting from both Dumka and Barhet.
Other prominent candidates are assembly Speaker Shashank Shekhar Bhokta, minister Lobin Hembrom, Sita Soren, who is the daughter-in-law of Shibu Soren and sister-in-law of the state chief minister, Bharatiya Janata Party national secretary Louise Marandi, and former minister Simon Marandi.
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