Jharkhand Elections / The condition and direction of Jharkhand's power is decided from the first phase itself

Jharkhand Elections: The election noise of the first phase of assembly elections in Jharkhand stopped on Monday evening, and now voting will be held on 3 December on 43 seats in 15 districts. In this phase, 1.37 crore voters will decide the fate of a total of 683 candidates. With the voting on 43 assembly seats in this phase, the direction of power in the state will also become clear, because this electoral contest will play an important role in deciding the future of the state. This is the reason why both India Alliance and NDA have put their strength in the electoral field with full force.

Which seats are important among the 43 seats?

In the first phase, electoral contest is taking place from different areas of Jharkhand. Out of these 43 seats, the maximum 14 seats are from Kolhan region, while 13 seats are from South Chotanagpur, 9 seats from Palamu and 7 seats from North Chotanagpur region. Out of these seats, 20 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes, while 6 seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes, and the remaining 17 seats are general.

Which parties are at stake in the political arena?

The main contest in the first phase of elections is between the BJP-led NDA and the India Alliance. Apart from BJP, the NDA includes AJSU, JDU and LJP (R), while the India Alliance includes JMM, Congress, RJD and Left parties. In this phase, JMM has fielded its candidates on 23 seats, Congress is contesting on 17 seats, and RJD has fielded its candidates on 5 seats. At the same time, in the NDA, BJP is fielding candidates on 36 seats, AJSU on 4 seats, JDU on 2 and LJP (R) on one seat.

Comparison with the last election and this time's stake

In the 2019 assembly elections, JMM and Congress together formed the Mahagathbandhan government, in which JMM won 17 seats and Congress won 8 seats. At the same time, BJP won 13 seats. But this time BJP has strengthened the alliance and taken along AJSU, JDU and LJP (R). Now, the political test on the 43 seats of the first phase will be whether the Mahagathbandhan is able to retain its power or BJP returns to power. BJP is especially eyeing the tribal voters, whom it is trying to attract.

Key candidates and seats of the first phase

In the first phase, big political faces are in the electoral fray on some major seats of Jharkhand. Former Chief Minister Champai Soren is contesting on a BJP ticket on the Saraikela seat. In Jamshedpur East, there is a contest between Ajay Kumar of Congress and Purnima Das of BJP. On Ranchi seat, MLA since 1996 and senior BJP leader Chandreshwar Prasad Singh (CP Singh) is pitted against JMM's Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji. In Jagannathpur, BJP candidate Geeta Koda will face Sona Ram Sinku of Congress. At the same time, in Jamshedpur West, there is a contest between Congress Health Minister Banna Gupta and JDU leader Saryu Roy.

Preparations for the first phase of voting

All election preparations have been completed for the first phase of voting. Voting will start at 7 am on December 3 and votes will be cast at a total of 15,344 polling stations for 43 seats. For this phase, 1 crore 37 lakh 10 thousand 717 voters will exercise their franchise, which includes 68 lakh 73 thousand 455 men, 68 lakh 36 thousand 959 women and 303 third gender voters.

Chief Electoral Officer Ravi Kumar has claimed to have completed the necessary arrangements at all polling stations. Control rooms have been arranged to monitor all polling stations, including web casting facilities. In this election, there is a possibility of a direct contest between BJP and JMM, while it can also prove to be a litmus test for Congress.

The responsibility of power rests on the first phase

The direction of Jharkhand's politics will become clear from this first phase of voting. Who wins this initial battle of the electoral equation will affect the future politics of the state. Now everyone's eyes will be on the results after the voting on December 3.