Ranchi: A total of 683 candidates are in the fray for the November 13 elections to secure seats in the 82-member Jharkhand assembly. This election will also test the luck of veteran politicians including former speaker and chief minister.
As the BJP-led NDA and JMM-led INDIA alliances gear up for a neck-and-neck battle, the political rhetoric has already charged up.
The first phase will see a clash of the titans as former chief minister Champai Soren is taking on JMM's Ganesh Mahali, while six-time Ranchi MLA and former speaker C P Singh will try his luck against his JMM counterpart Mahua Maji.
Mithilesh Thakur, considered to be the most influential minister of the Hemant cabinet, is contesting from Garhwah which is readying for a triangular contest between Thakur, BJP's Satyendranath Tiwari, and SP's Girinath Singh. There is a probability of a direct contest between Congress nominee K N Tripathi and BJP's Alok Chaurasia in Daltoganj. But the independent candidature of Inder Singh Namdhari can turn the tide.
Saryu Rai is contesting on a JDU ticket from Jamshedpur West against JMM minister Banna Gupta. There is a possibility of a tough fight between the duo. On the other hand, Jamshedpur East might throw up an interesting contest between Raghuvar Das's daughter-in-law Purnima Sahu and former state president of Congress and former IPS Dr Ajay Kumar.
The first phase will also see 73 women candidates vying for spaces in the assembly. Candidates like former education minister Dr Neera Yadav, Geeta Koda, Shilpi Neha Tirkey, Amba Prasad, and Purnima Das are prominent among them.
RJD's Subhash Prasad Yadav is taking on Dr Neera Yadav of BJP in Koderma. Similarly, BJP's Sunny Toppo will take on Shilpi Neha Tirkey in Mandar. Geeta Koda, wife of former chief minister Madhu Koda, contesting on a BJP ticket from Jagannathpur, will face Sona Ram Sinku of Congress.
Overall, there is a possibility of a tough fight in the first phase of the Jharkhand assembly elections and as the election campaign gains momentum the heavyweights are holding their breaths in the last leg.
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