Jharkhand Heads Into First Phase Of Voting Today

Ranchi: The first phase of voting for 43 Assembly seats in Jharkhand is set to take place on Wednesday, November 13, with a fierce contest between the NDA and INDIA Bloc on the cards. In the 2019 elections, the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance secured 25 of these seats, while the BJP managed only 13. The remaining seats were split among Independents (2), NCP (1), and JVM (1). This time, the NDA is looking to improve its tally, while the INDIA bloc aims to consolidate its previous gains and expand its footprint further.

The prestige of six Ministers and several prominent leaders is at stake in this phase. Among them is former Chief Minister Champai Soren, who, after joining the BJP just a month after being ousted from the Chief Minister's chair, is contesting from his traditional stronghold in Saraikela. Soren has won this seat six times since 1991, only facing defeat in 2000. This time, he is locked in a direct battle with Ganesh Mahali of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), who was previously the BJP candidate here. The twist is that both have switched sides.

On the Lohardaga seat, Rameshwar Oraon, a Congress Minister in the Hemant Soren government, is up against Neeru Shanti Bhagat of the AJSU Party. In 2019, a split in votes between BJP and AJSU candidates benefited Oraon. However, with BJP-AJSU united this time, Oraon faces a tougher challenge.

Garhwa constituency sees a triangular contest, with Minister Mithilesh Thakur defending his seat against BJP's Satyendra Nath Tiwari and Samajwadi Party’s former Minister Girinath Singh, both of whom have previously been MLAs from this

constituency.