Ranchi, Nov 20 (Reporter) In brisk polling, over 61 percent of the total 1.23 crore electors exercised their franchise amid heavy security arrangements with two hours of voting still left for 38 seats in the second and final phase of the Jharkhand Assembly election on Wednesday. According to the Election Commission data, the voter turnout was approximately 61.47 percent till 3 p.m. in the 38 constituencies where polling was taking place for the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly. Forty three constituencies had gone to the hustings in round one on November 13. According to the EC, the polling percentage was the highest at 69.31 percent in Pakur district, Dhanbad district has registered the lowest polling figure of 56.32 percent till 3 pm. Among the Assembly constituencies, Maheshpur has recorded the highest turnout of 74 percent. The polling was lowest in the Dahanbad constituency at 45.14 percent.The polling, which began at 7 a.m., will end at 5 p.m. in all but 31 of the total 14,218 booths. In these 31 booths, polling will conclude at 4 p.m.Among the prominent people who have already voted are state BJP president and former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi, All Jharkhand Students Union chief and former state deputy chief minister Sudesh Mahto, state Leader of the Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey. Meanwhile, Union Minister and Kodarma MP Annapurna Devi has posted a video on her x account alleging that in a booth under Gandey constituency women from a minority community are voting in groups with the "connivance of the administration". claimed that such voting was violative of the rules of secret voting. It may be mentioned that Chief Minister Hemanth Soren's wife Kalpana Soren is the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidate from Gandey.Annapurna Dev also alleged that such irregularities were noticed in many places and demanded the intervention of the Election Commission.Altogether 528 candidates including 472 men, 55 women, and one from the third gender have thrown their hats into the ring for this round of Elections heavyweight candidates in this phase are Chief Minister Hemant Soren from Berhait, Babulal Marandi from Dhanwar, Sudesh Mahto from Silli and Assembly Speaker Ravindra Nath Mahto (JMM) from Nala.Besides, there are other star contestants like Kalpana Soren (JMM) from Gandey, JMM chief Shibu Soren's daughter-in-law Sita Soren (BJP) from Jamtara, Louis Marandi (JMM) from Jama and Lobin Hembram (BJP) from Borrio. Unlike the first phase of elections in the state, the majority of the seats (27) in the final round belong to the general category, while eight are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and three for Scheduled Castes (SC). To ensure trouble-free polling, the Election Commission has deployed 585 companies of central forces and 60 companies of Jharkhand Armed Police, besides 30,000 district police personnel and homeguards. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), helmed by the Bharatiya Janata Party is locked in an intense fight with the incumbent Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-headed Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) for forming the next government in the tribal-dominated state. The votes will be counted alongside those of the Maharashtra Assembly polls on November 23...////...