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voting in Jharkhand assembly elections Voting is being held on November 20 during the second phase for 38 seats, including Santhal Pargana and Chhotanagpur region. Winning Santhal Pargana has become a matter of prestige for both JMM and BJP.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren is contesting from Barhet seat reserved for tribals in Santhal Pargana, a seat he has already won twice in a row. JMM flag has been flying here since 1990. BJP has never been able to win Barhet. BJP’s Gamliyal Hembrom is contesting against the CM.
In 2019, Simon Malto had contested against Hemant in Barhet. There will be no rematch this time because Malto has recently joined JMM.
In Dhanwar, BJP state president and former CM Babulal Marandi is contesting from JMM and CPI-ML candidates. Meanwhile, on November 16, Niranjan Rai, the second richest candidate in the state, initially contesting as an independent from Dhanwar, joined the BJP. Amit Shah welcomed Rai at an election rally held in the constituency.
On the other hand, JMM MLA and star campaigner Kalpana SorenFate is to be decided in Gandey. Kalpana, who won the by-election from Gandey last June, is facing BJP’s Muniya Devi. Both these seats, Dhanwar and Gandeya, are unreserved and are in the North Chhotanagpur region.
in the first phaseOn November 13, voting was held for 43 seats, including 14 seats in Kolhan, where BJP’s account was not opened in the 2019 elections. During this phase, women performed better than men by casting 3,02,372 more votes. Also, about four percent more votes were cast in tribal areas as compared to 2019.
Voting has taken place on 20 out of 28 seats reserved for tribals in the 81-member assembly.
Santhal Pargana
Comprising six districts – Dumka, Sahibganj, Godda, Jamtara, Pakur and Deogarh, the Santhal Pargana region forms the eastern and northeastern parts of Jharkhand and shares its border with West Bengal. A large part of this region is dominated by Santhal tribals and Muslims. There is also a sizeable population of OBC, SC and Forward class here.
Santhal Pargana has three Lok Sabha seats and 18 assembly constituencies and out of these, seven seats are for tribals, one for Scheduled Caste and 10 seats are unreserved. In 2019, the BJP won only four seats, while the JMM-Congress alliance won 13 seats.
In the Lok Sabha elections, JMM won both the ST seats of Dumka and Rajmahal. JMM is contesting on 11 seats, Congress on five and RJD on two seats and within the NDA, BJP has fielded candidates on 17 seats and AJSU on one seat.
Infiltration has been one of the central issues of the BJP, whose leaders have been emphasizing on Alleged “changing demographics” In Santhal Pargana. Many prominent leaders including PM Modi, Amit Shah, UP CM Yogi Adityanath Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma He has accused the Indian group of doing appeasement politics. BJP has promised to fulfill Jharkhandi asmita By saving (identity/pride) of the state bread, soil and daughter,
JMM leaders have rejected these allegations outright and accused the BJP of using divisive politics to ‘grab’ power in the state. At an election rally in Rajmahal on November 16, Hemant Soren said, “These people (BJP leaders) know how to divide and polarize us just for votes, but perhaps they are not aware of the tribal ethos that puts community above everything else.” Is.”
JMM slogans in Santhali language are echoing in tribal dominated areas. Jail Reyak Jobab Jeet Aur Ak Saar Do Okoya, Abua Abua (The answer to jail is vote…whose bow and arrow? Ours, ours). Hemant has brought him up five months imprisonment During the election campaign he often presented himself as a champion of tribals, the poor and Dalits.
JMM Assembly President Ravindra Nath Mahato in Nala in Santhal Pargana, senior Congress leader and cabinet minister Dr. Irfan Ansari in Jamtara and JMM candidate Hafizul Ansari in Madhupur are ready to give a tough fight to the BJP.
Sita Soren, daughter-in-law of JMM patriarch Shibu Soren, joined the BJP in March, lost the Dumka parliamentary seat to Nalin Soren and is now contesting against Dr Ansari. This election is important for his political future and stature. In Dumka, Hemant’s younger brother and JMM MLA Basant Soren is contesting against former BJP MP Sunil Soren.
The Congress party has fielded Nishat Alam, wife of jailed former minister Alamgir Alam, from Pakur. Alamgir Alam, a four-time Congress MLA and one of the few prominent Muslim faces of the Congress and India Bloc in the state, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on May 16 in a money laundering case. Here it will be a tough challenge for AJSU candidate Azhar Islam.
Chotanagpur
On November 20, 18 seats in North Chhotanagpur are also going to polls (seven of the 25 in the region have gone to polls during the first phase), including the famous mining town of Dhanbad, known as the coal capital of India. Is.
BJP’s hopes rest on the coal belt.
In this region, BJP is contesting on 14 seats and its ally AJSU is contesting on four seats. JMM has fielded its candidates on eight seats, Congress on six and CPI-ML on four seats. In southern Chhotanagpur, in a high-stakes battle, AJSU chief Sudesh Kumar Mahato is contesting in Silli.
The 52-year-old Marxist Coordination Committee (MCC), based in the coal mining area of Dhanbad, merged with the CPI-ML on September 9, strengthening the CPI-ML. But the alliance still faces a tough challenge from the BJP in four seats – Bagodar, Nirsa, Sindri and Dhanwar.
In Bagodar, party MLA Vinod Singh is contesting against BJP candidate Nagendra Mahato. In Nirsa, CPI ML’s Arup Chatterjee is trying to snatch the seat from BJP MLA Aparna Sengupta.
Then, in Chandankiyari, a seat reserved for Scheduled Castes, opposition leader Amar Kumar Bauri of BJP faces his arch rival, former JMM minister Umakant Rajak.
The electoral battle in North Chhotanagpur is witnessing a challenging turn with the entry of a new organization – Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha – founded and led by Jairam Kumar Mahato alias Tiger Jairam, who hails from the Kudmi community. He has been wooing the youth on local issues like jobs, domicile policy and coal workers’ rights.
In its first assembly election, JLKM has fielded candidates on 71/81 seats. Jairam Dumri and Bermo are contesting elections together from both the seats. JLKM seems to be posing a challenge to the NDA and Bharatiya candidates on at least ten seats.
Tiger Jairam, contesting as an independent from Giridih in the Lok Sabha elections, stood third (3,47,322 votes) after JMM (runner-up) and AJSU. However, he got more votes than JMM and AJSU candidates in Gomia and Dumri assembly constituencies. In Dumri, JMM minister Baby Devi is contesting against Jairam and AJSU’s Yashoda Devi.
Kudmi Mahtas (Mahtos) constitute about 15 per cent of the population and are an important vote factor in at least a dozen seats in Chhotanagpur.
(The author is a senior journalist based in Jharkhand. These are his personal views.)
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