Jharkhand elections 2014: 7 reasons why day one is important,Jharkhand election Campaign, Jharkhand political news, Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha election(Chunav) 2014
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- Last Updated: Thursday, 22 January 2015 21:12
Jharkhand elections 2014: 7 reasons why day one is important
Ranchi: Maoists have a strong presence in most of the 13 constituencies going to polls on Tuesday and reports say they are desperate to execute a big attack on security forces and eliminate candidates.
Naxal fear is so strong here that in many of the constituencies, polling parties are airlifted in order to avoid Maoists who lay landmines with the help of informers. Even VVIPs and star campaigners like Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi are not advised by the elite SPG to take the road route in these hinterlands.
These are the seats where Bihar-based parties RJD and JDU have a reasonable base unlike the rest of Jharkhand. Politics of this region is slightly different from rest of the state and none of the parties is claiming an astounding victory in phase one. Here are seven reasons why the Round One of Jharkhand elections will be important:
Victory over fear
Turnout has consistently been above average in these constituencies despite Naxal threat. Voters have defied fear and despite a boycott call by Maoists, turnout has been reasonably good between 55 and 60 per cent on an average. People here have always been politically aware as most parts of the region is geographically close to Bihar and has always been in the mainstream politics of integrated Bihar.
Prestige of 3 state party chiefs at stake
Congress state president Sukhdeo Bhagat and AJSU's state president Kamal Kishor Bhagat are face to face in Lohardaga. Kamal Kishore is the existing MLA of Lohardaga and is supported by BJP as per seat agreement. RJD state president Girinath Singh is trying his luck from Garhwa. Sukhdeo Bhagat and Kam Kishor were rejected by voters in 2009.
Voters prefer new faces
Among the 13 Assembly seats, only two candidates could retain their seats in the 2009 state polls. The voters gave an opportunity to new figures and rejected the existing ones in 11 of these seats. Videsh Singh, in the first phase of polls, was lucky enough to have won his seat again in 2009, after his 2005 success in Panki.
Low victory margin
These 13 seats have been known for low victory margin of winning candidates. This reflects the mood of the electors who have defied all kinds of poll waves. None of the parties are sure about their win.
Kamal Kishor Bhagat got only 606 votes more than his opponent and won Lohardaga seat.
Harikrishna Singh of BJP won by a small margin of 1769 votes from Palamu's Manika seat. Krishna Nand Tripathi secured his victory from Daltonganj by a small margin of 4,233 votes.
JVM'S Satyendra Nath Tiwari won by a margin of 10,062 votes from Garhwa. In Chhattarpur, Sudha Chaudhary (JDU) won by a margin of 9,746 votes; 12,000 additional votes helped Kamlesh Oraon win Gumla seat.
Fate of turncoats
Turncoats rule the roost in phase one. Three existing MLAs in the first phase have jumped boats and are contesting on tickets of other parties. Satyendra Tiwari, who won Garhwa seat on JMM ticket is contesting on BJP ticket.
Anant Pratap Dev, a Congress MLA from Bhawnathpur, has joined the BJP and contesting from the same seat. Vishunpur MLA Chamra Linda, an eminent Congress leader, is now contesting on JMM ticket. It will be interesting to see if the voters will accept these turncoats.
UPA confuses voters
Congress, JD(U) and RJD have fielded their candidates against each other in three seats. In Manika, against Congress' Muneshwar Oraon, RJD has fielded its candidate Ram Chandra Singh Chero. JD(U)'s sitting MLA Sudha Chowdhary will be challenged by RJD's Manoj Bhuiyan in Chhatarpur. Umesh Sahu in Hussainabad against RJD's Sanjay Prasad Singh Yadav in Hussainabad.
Crorepatis
In the previous assembly poll, there were only 51 crorepati candidates for the total 81 seats. This year, 46 crorepatis are contesting for the first phase alone. Political parties have banked upon rich candidates this time. December 23 results will show how acceptable these rich candidates are to the voters.
src:ibnlive