In a setback to Opposition BJP which has been opposing the Gandey bypoll, the Election Commission of India (ECI), rejected the Opposition plea and announced to hold the byelections in Gandey on May 20. JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmed vacated the seat on December 31, presumably for Hemant Sorens wife, Kalpana Soren. The ECI on Saturday announced the poll dates for State. Gandey bypoll will be held on May 20 along with Chatra, Hazaribagh and Koderma. The BJP has opposed the bypoll and has also written a letter to Governor CP Radhakrishnan alleging that byelections cannot be held in Gandey as the remaining tenure of the House is less than one year.   It said that the result of the 5th Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha was declared on 23.12.2019, and Sarfaraz Ahmad resigned from his office and was accepted w.e.f. 31.12.2023. The election at Gandey Constituency for the remaining period cannot happen since less than one year is left of the whole tenure of the 5th Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha, it said, counting the tenure of the House from December 27 2019. The JMM, on the other hand, said that the first session of the fifth Jharkhand Legislative Assembly was convened on January 6 2020. So, the remaining tenure of the Assembly is more than a year, it added.    According to Article 172 of the Constitution of India, the tenure of the fifth Jharkhand Legislative Assembly is until January 5 2025, the JMM said in a memorandum to the Chief Electoral Officer, seeking the Election Commission to hold the election in Gandey as soon as possible. The elections will be held in Jharkhand in the fourth phase in Palamu, Lohardaga, Singhbhum, and Khunti constituencies on 13 May, while in the fifth phase polling will be held in Chatra, Koderma and Hazaribagh on 20th May. In the sixth phase polls will be conducted in Giridih, Dhanbad, Ranchi and Jamshedpur constituencies on 25th May, while in the seventh phase polling will be held in Rajmahal, Dumka and Godda constituencies on June 01. Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar held a press conference here on Saturday and shared details of the elections. Jharkhand has a total number of 2,55,18,642 voters, which is 31,54,203 more than that of the 2019 election figures. The total number of male voters in the State is 1,29,97,325, while the number of female voters is 1,25,20,910.   As many as 10,93,718 males are first time voters in the State, while the number of first time female voters in Jharkhand in this election is 11,39,260. The number of voters in the 18-19 age group is 8,08,371.  A total of 29,501 polling booths have been made for elections in the State. Kumar said that all 29521 polling stations across Jharkhand will be developed as model booths having all basic facilities ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He said that the booths will have queue-less facilities for polling this time. Kumar said that facilities are being made in the polling booths so that voters do not have to stand in queues. A lounge will be made in polling booths, where voters will sit and wait for their turns to exercise their franchise. Also, volunteers will assist the voters with tokens so that they can cast their votes in a proper manner, he said. The Election Commission is also making theme based booths in every district based on local art, culture of that specific area, which will be decided by the district administration. The CEO, Jharkhand said that some of the booths will also be filled in with all-women, all-youth, all-disabled polling parties to ensure participation of everyone in this festival of democracy.

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