Ranchi: As the Jharkhand assembly elections have heated, all eyes are on the top contenders, particularly 11 cabinet ministers and Chief Minister Hemant Soren. All of them are facing anti-incumbency factors, but the report of performance is a major advantage.
Eight ministers in the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led state government, including the CM, face a direct fight with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates, while the remaining four will face All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) candidates on two seats and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and JDU on one seat each.
Instead of minister Satyanand Bhokta, the RJD has put Rashmi Prakash, his daughter-in-law, as its Chatra candidate. She will face Janardan Paswan, who just joined LJP(R) from RJD.
Overall, candidates from the NDA and India Bloc are competing for high-profile seats. Now the question is, which seats will allow the fight to be triangular?
Dumri, which is linked with ministers, is now the only seat where a triangular struggle is envisaged, thanks to the arrival of JLKM supremo Jairam Mahto.
Equation For Barhet Seat
This is a high-profile seat in the state because of the presence of Chief Minister Soren, who defeated BJP candidate Simon Malto by 25,740 votes in the 2019 elections. In 2014, the BJP fielded JMM's strong leader Hemlal Murmu to face Soren. But Hemlal, who had won this seat in 2009 against independent candidate Vijay Hansda, was defeated by a massive margin of 24,087 votes. Hemlal and Vijay are the current JMM leaders. This year, the BJP fielded Gamlial Hembram, who ran against the CM on the AJSU ticket in the 2019 elections.
No Party Won Garhwa Seat Twice
In the last four elections, no party has won this seat more than once. Satyendra Nath Tiwari won twice in a row, albeit for two different parties: the first on a Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) ticket and the second on a BJP ticket.
This year's battle is between JMM leader and Minister Mithilesh Thakur and BJP candidate Satyendra Nath Tiwari. Mithilesh won his first election in 2019, beating Satyendra of the BJP by 23,522 votes, and was appointed to Hemant's cabinet.
Satyendra won from Garhwa in 2014, with Girinath Singh of the RJD coming in second. In that election, Mithilesh finished third.
In 2005, Girinath Singh of the RJD won this seat. In 2009, Satyendra won on a JVM ticket; Girinath was second and JMM's Mithilesh was third.
Jairam Is Making Contest In Dumri Triangular
This seat has been the traditional stronghold of JMM, as the party leader Jagarnath Mahato has been winning from here several times. However, due to his untimely death during the COVID-19 pandemic, his wife, Baby Devi, was fielded by JMM. There was a wave of sympathy for her. In the by-election held on September 5, 2023, Baby Devi defeated Yashoda Devi of AJSU by a margin of 17,153 votes.
This time Baby Devi, who was inducted into the cabinet, is facing Yashoda Devi of AJSU. But with the entry of JLKL's Jairam Mahato in the fray, the contest seems to be triangular.
The Dumri assembly constituency is a part of the Giridih Lok Sabha constituency, where Jairam got more votes than the JMM and AJSU candidates in the Dumri area.
However, the Lok Sabha polls were won by AJSU candidate Chandraprakash Choudhary. JMM's Mathura Mahato was in second place. This time the possibility of a surprising result in Dumri cannot be ruled out.
JMM Strong Hold Chaibasa
JMM has been the party stronghold, as the current minister, Deepak Birua, has won three consecutive elections from here. After coming out of jail, when Hemant became CM again, he included Birua in the cabinet.
This time BJP has fielded Geeta Balmuchu against Deepak. Geeta has been the president of the Chaibasa Municipal Council. She has been active as a BJP worker in her area.
In 2000, this seat was with Congress' Bagun Sumbri while BJP's Putkar Hembram won for the first time in 2005. In that election, Deepak Birua contested as an independent and stood second. After this, no one could defeat him.
Turmoil On Ghatshila Seat
The equation remains entirely different on the Ghatsila seat as the BJP has fielded Babulal Soren, son of Champai Soren, a strong JMM leader, against Ghatsila MLA cum minister Ramdas Soren. So, a close contest is expected here.
There was a time when the Congress dominated Ghatsila. Pradeep Balmuchu of the Congress won the elections of 2000 and 2005.
In 2005, Balmuchu defeated the current MLA, Ramdas Soren, who contested as an independent. But in 2009, he registered his first victory by defeating Balmuchu on a JMM ticket.
In 2014, BJP's Laxman Tudu defeated Ramdas. But in 2019, Ramdas proved his mettle by defeating the BJP's Lakhan Chandra Mardi. Therefore, when Champai joined the BJP, he got a place in the Hemant cabinet for the first time.
The special thing is that in 2019, AJSU fielded Pradeep Balmuchu as its candidate, who stood third. But the total votes of the BJP and AJSU candidates were more than 27 thousand votes than those received by Ramdas. In such a situation, there is a possibility of a tough contest for this seat under the alliance.
Field Day In Latehar Seat
There has been a series of defections to win this seat. This time JMM MLA cum minister Baidyanath Ram is facing BJP's Prakash Ram. In 2005, Prakash Ram won on an RJD ticket. Then Baidyanath was in third place as a JDU candidate. In 2009, Baidyanath joined the BJP and defeated RJD's Prakash. In 2014, Prakash won the Latehar seat on the JVM ticket. In 2019, Baidyanath joined JMM and defeated BJP's Prakash. This time too, both are face-to-face.
No Repeat Victory In Madhupur Seat
There has been a direct contest between JMM and BJP on this seat. After the formation of the state, no candidate has been able to repeat the victory in the elections held in Madhupur. This time the contest is between MLA cum minister Hafizul Hasan and BJP candidate Ganga Narayan Singh. In 2019, this seat was won by Haji Hussain Ansari of JMM. Raj Paliwar of the BJP was in second place. But after the untimely death of Haji Hussain during the Corona period, his son Hafizul Hasan won in the by-election held on April 17, 2021. Hasan faced BJP's Ganga Narayan Singh. The special thing is that despite being made a minister before the election, Hafizul got 1,10,812 votes while BJP's Ganga Narayan got 1,05,565 votes. Earlier, BJP's Raj Paliwar won in 2005, JMM's Haji Hussain Ansari in 2009, and BJP's Raj Paliwar won in 2014.
Contest In Lohardaga Can Be Interesting
MLA cum minister Rameshwar Oraon's reputation is at stake on the Lohardaga seat. He is pitted against AJSU's Neeru Shanti Bhagat. Sukhdev Bhagat left Congress and contested on a BJP ticket after not getting a ticket in 2019. But he lost to Congress' Rameshwar Oraon by a big margin. However, in that election, AJSU's Neeru Shanti Bhagat (wife of former MLA late Kamal Kishore Bhagat) stood third.
The total votes of the BJP and AJSU were more than the victorious Rameshwar. Therefore, there is a direct contest between the NDA and INDIA Bloc here. The plus point with Rameshwar is that Lohardaga Lok Sabha's seat is with Congress' Sukhdev Bhagat. He is likely to benefit from this. In 2009 and 2014, AJSU's Kamal Kishore Bhagat won from here. In 2005, Congress' Sukhdev Bhagat was the MLA here.
Minister Vs Former Minister In Jamshedpur West
The contest for this seat is between Congress MLA cum minister Banna Gupta and JDU's Saryu Rai. The dispute between the two has gone to personal allegations. But the interesting thing is that Saryu Rai has become a JDU candidate from here for the first time. He had defeated Banna Gupta on a BJP ticket in 2005 and 2009.
In 2014, Banna also defeated Saryu. In 2019, the two could not compete because Saryu had defeated the then CM Raghuvar Das by challenging him as an independent candidate for the Jamshedpur East seat. He was angry at not getting a BJP ticket. This time he has the support of NDA. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is also likely to campaign in his favour. Therefore, a close contest can be seen here.
Tough Fight In Maggama
The contest is between the current MLA cum minister Deepika Pandey Singh and BJP's Ashok Kumar Bhagat. Deepika, who won the election for the first time, was made a minister by the Congress in the cabinet of Hemant, who became CM again in July 2024. She has the equation of forward and backward castes as well as Muslim votes with her. But it is worth noting that BJP candidate Ashok Kumar also has a stronghold in Mahagama. He has won the elections of 2000 and 2005 on a BJP ticket. Congress's Rajesh Ranjan won in 2009. Ashok won for the third time in 2014. But in 2019, Congress's Deepika Pandey Singh defeated Ashok by a huge margin.
Who Will Triumph In Jamtara?
By nominating Sita Soren, the BJP has made the equation of Jamtara interesting. Because JMM supremo Shibu Soren has also won the by-election of April 2009 from here. At the same time, the current MLA cum minister, Irfan Ansari, has the challenge of scoring a hat-trick.
In 2000, Irfan's father, Furkan Ansari, defeated the BJP's Vishnu Prasad Bhaiya on a Congress ticket.
In 2005, Vishnu made the lotus bloom here for the first time. In 2009, Vishnu left the BJP and won the election again on a JMM ticket. He defeated Congress' Furkan Ansari. But he left the seat for JMM supremo Shibu Soren.
In 2014, Congress' Irfan turned the tables. In that election, BJP's Birendra Mandal came in second and JMM's Vishnu Prasad Bhaiya came in third. In 2019 also, Irfan defeated the BJP's Birendra Mandal.
Meanwhile, the matter has heated up due to the controversial comment made by Irfan Ansari against Sita Soren. The decision of victory or defeat on this seat will depend on the mobilisation of tribal voters.
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