High-stakes battle for NDA, INDIA bloc

Tribal voters hold the key in the first phase of the assembly election in Jharkhand, as 20 out of the 28 constituencies reserved for scheduled tribes in the state are among the 43 constituencies set to go to polls on Wednesday. This phase is crucial for both NDA and INDIA bloc as the alliance which takes the lead in the first phase is likely to have an easier task in the second phase, on November 20. The first phase will also decide whether JMM leader and CM Hemant Soren has been able to maintain his party's grip over the tribal voters or the BJP-led NDA, with senior tribal leaders switching to its side, has taken the shine off the JMM-led INDIA bloc.


In the 2019 elections, the JMM, Congress and RJD together won 26 out of the 43 seats going to the polls on Wednesday, with the JMM winning 17, Congress winning eight and the RJD winning one seat. The BJP won 13 seats, and four seats were won by others.



The individual charisma of several bigwigs is also at stake in the first phase. Former CM Champai Soren, who has an unbeaten record from Saraikela as a JMM candidate, is now a BJP candidate for the first time. The Kolhan Tiger, as he is called by the locals, is shouldering the responsibility not only for Saraikela but also Ghatshila, from where his son Babulal Soren is the BJP candidate. BJP's performance in Kolhan region will depend on whether Champai is able to secure the support of the tribal voters. Two former BJP CMs, Raghubar Das and Arjun Munda, are not in the fray but through family members, their presence will be felt in the constituencies. Das's daughter-in-law Purnima Das Sahu is contesting from Jamshedpur East while Munda's wife Meera is contesting from Potka. Geeta Koda, wife of ex- CM Madhu Koda, is contesting from Jagannathpur seat as a BJP candidate against Congress MLA Sona Ram Sinku.

The JDU has got two seats, Jamshedpur West and Tamar and both will go to polls in the first phase, as will Chatra, the lone seat that the LJP (Ram Vilas) got in alliance with the NDA.