Ranchi, Nov 12: 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.

On the Jamshedpur West seat, Congress Minister Banna Gupta is in a direct contest with former Minister Saryu Rai of the JDU. Both have won this seat twice. Rai, who famously defeated then Chief Minister Raghubar Das in the 2019 elections from Jamshedpur East, has now returned to his former stronghold.

In Chaibasa, JMM Minister Deepak Birua faces BJP’s Geeta Balmuchu, a first-time candidate who has gained significant local traction due to her active social and political engagement.

JMM MLA and Minister Ramdas Soren on the Ghatsila seat is up against Babulal Soren, son of former Chief Minister Champai Soren, running as a BJP candidate. This is Babulal’s electoral debut, with his father's reputation backing him.

The Latehar seat is witnessing a high-stakes rivalry between JMM’s Baidyanath Ram and BJP's Prakash Ram. Voters here have traditionally changed their MLA every election cycle. The question remains whether Baidyanath can break this pattern and secure consecutive wins.

In Ranchi, a high-profile constituency, former Speaker and BJP minister C.P. Singh faces JMM’s Dr Mahua Maji, a Rajya Sabha MP.

In Potka, BJP’s Meera Munda, wife of former Chief Minister Arjun Munda, is challenging sitting JMM MLA Sanjeev Sardar.

The Jaganathpur seat sees a battle between Geeta Koda, wife of former Chief Minister Madhu Koda, and Congress MLA Sona Ram Sinku.

In Jamshedpur East, Congress spokesperson and former IPS officer Ajay Kumar is fighting against BJP’s Purnima Das Sahu, the daughter-in-law of Odisha Governor Raghubar Das. BJP rebel candidate Shivshankar Singh is also in the fray, adding a third angle to this contest.

--IANS