Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das' own Assembly seat in danger?

As most of the exit polls predict anti-incumbency in Jharkhand, ruling Bharatiya Janta Party leader and Chief Minister Raghubar Das seems to face a stiff challenge in his bastion - Jamshedpur East - by Saryu Rai, who decided to rebel against the party and contest as an independent from the same seat in the assembly polls after being denied a party ticket to contest the election.

Ranchi (Jharkhand):With the exit polls for the Jharkhand Assembly elections painting a grim picture for the incumbent Raghubar Das-led BJP government, all eyes will turn towards the Chief Minister come results day - as his own seat seems to be in danger.

Jamshedpur East - Das' safe seat had become the centre of attraction after Saryu Rai, who was the food and supply minister in the Raghubar Das Cabinet, decided to fight against his own Chief Minister. He contested as an independent candidate simultaneously from Jamshedpur East and Jamshedpur West, from where he is a two-time MLA.

Saryu Rai decided to rebel against his party after being denied a ticket to contest the polls. While filing his nomination papers, he had said, "it is a fight against fear and corruption". He had always been giving fodder to opposition parties against his own government in the last five years.

Who is Rai?

Rai is a product of the JP movement led by Jayaprakash Narayan in 1975. An old friend of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, he was one of the petitioners in Patna High Court seeking CBI probe in the multi-million fodder scam.

He had been critical against his own government despite being a minister in the state, and did not enjoy a good rapport with the chief minister.

Rai is often credited to be the chief exposer of the scams that led to the convictions of three former chief ministers - Lalu Prasad Yadav, Madhu Koda, and Jagannath Mishra.

Rai enjoys BJP support

Das, who is a five-time sitting MLA from Jamshedpur East, has won every single election from the assembly seat since 2005 - the first assembly elections in Jharkhand. But the prospect of him winning a successive sixth term from the seat is in danger - all thanks to the support Rai possesses.

Rai is believed to enjoy the furtive support of numerous BJP leaders who felt sidelined during Das' tenure.

Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy had come out in support of Rai. "It is sad that JP’s then young associate and now most prominent and honest Minister of the BJP government in Jharkhand, Saryu Rai has been denied BJP ticket for no good reason. Now he is an independent candidate against the CM in the imminent election for Assembly," he had earlier tweeted.

"Elect clean Saryu Rai and bring him back to BJP and make him CM. BJP in Jharkhand must focus on winning the state. Otherwise, after Maharashtra it energise nation’s enemies," he said in another tweet.

Rai's repeated attacks on Das

The former Cabinet minister had repeatedly attacked Das over allegations of corruption. He had said that he possesses evidence to prove the Chief Minister's involvement in an illegal mining scam.

He has also attacked Das on the unfulfilled promise of legalising 86 'basties' of the constituency, despite becoming Chief Minister of the state.

Whether these come back to bite Das will only be known on December 23.

A third threat

While all the focus was on Das vs Rai, the presence of the third candidate cannot be overlooked. The Opposition Congress-RJD-JMM gathbandhan has fielded Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh from Jamshedpur East.

Vallabh, who was a professor at the reputed XLRI Institute in the city shot to limelight after a video of his TV debate with BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra went viral on social media.

Vallabh could prove to be an extremely crucial 'vote-cutter' as he could eat away into a lot of anti-Das votes.