Polling for the five phased assembly elections is underway in Jharkhand. The state, that saw the third phase of polling on Thursday, is also witnessing rigorous campaigning by major political leaders.

Most recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a massive rally in the state’s Dhanbad district. At the same time, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi too campaigned in the state.

Urging people, especially the youth, Modi tweeted, “The third phase of Jharkhand polls will take place today. Urging all those whose seats go to the polls today to vote in large numbers. I particularly urge my young friends to vote.”

Launching a scathing attack on the Congress during his speech at Dhanbad, Modi accused the Sonia Gandhi-led party of always avoiding taking decisions related to national interest. He added that he never believed in vote-bank politics and rather have always worked for the welfare of people.

“The Congress had deliberately kept the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute hanging for decades. Matters of national interest are secondary for them. They had also kept the issue of Jharkhand’s creation pending for five decades. It was the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government that created Jharkhand,” he said while addressing a gathering in Dhanbad.

Hitting back at Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi targeted the PM over inflation. While addressing a public gathering in Jharkhand’s Rajmahal, former Congress party president Rahul Gandhi said, “Farmers are unhappy but Adani (business group) is happy with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decisions (demonization and GST). He took money from poor people and distributed them among some businessmen.”

The five-phase assembly elections to the 81-member House began on November 30 and will end on December 20. Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer Vinay Kumar Choubey said about 40,000 pollingpersonnel conducted the election.

Over 62 per cent voter turnout was recorded on Thursday at the end of third-phase elections, in which 17 assembly seats of Jharkhand went to polls.

Fourth-phase polling for 15 seats is scheduled on December 16 and the last phase for 16 seats will be held on December 20. Votes will be counted on December 23.