On Wednesday, voting will kick off for the Jharkhand Assembly elections with 43 of its 81 seats going to polls in the first phase. These seats are spread across the Kolhan coal belt, the tribal-dominated South Chotanagpur and the northern Palamu regions.

Of the seats voting in the first phase, 20 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and six for Scheduled Castes (SCs).

In 2019, despite struggling in the Lok Sabha poll just month prior, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led alliance ousted the BJP to return to power helmed by Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

While the BJP-led alliance had won 12 of the state’s 14 Lok Sabha seats, with the JMM and ally Congress winning one seat each, the ensuing Assembly polls saw a reversal. The JMM emerged as the single largest party with 30 Assembly seats, of which 17 were won among the seats going to polls in the first phase on Wednesday. Thirteen of the BJP’s 25 total seats were won from these 43 first-phase seats, followed by the Congress at eight of 16. JMM and Congress ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won its only seat here. Smaller parties, including the erstwhile Babulal Marandi-led Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), and Independents won the remaining four first-phase seats.

In terms of vote share in these 43 seats, though, the BJP had a considerable lead over its rivals at 33.37%. The JMM secured 18.95%, followed by the Congress at 13.52%, and the RJD at 3.07%, putting the alliance total at 35.54%. The All-Jharkhand Students’ Union Party (AJSUP), which was not allied with the BJP for these elections, managed a 6.68% vote share.

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, while the BJP’s overall tally fell from 2019 to eight, it also led in 26 of the 43 Assembly segments that are voting in the first phase. In the INDIA bloc, the Congress led in 12 segments and the JMM in six. In terms of vote share in the first-phase seats, the BJP led with 49.88%, followed by the Congress at 22.23%, the JMM at 11.23%, and the RJD at 5.45%.

This time around, both the ruling and Opposition alliances have expanded. While the INDIA bloc has added the CPI(ML)(L), the NDA has roped in the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) and the Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), beside the AJSUP. However, the INDIA bloc parties are also engaged in friendly fights – in Bishrampur and Chhatarpur.

Total seats: 43 – 20 ST and 6 SC

Turnout in 2019: 63.75%

 

BJP: 20 candidates (56% of total candidates in first phase)

JMM: 11 (48%)

Congress: 11 (65%)

RJD: 3 (60%)

AJSUP: 3 (75%)

JD(U): 2 (100%)

LJP(RV): 1 (100%)

Of the 43 seats in this phase, 29 or 67% have at least three or more candidates with criminal cases. The Barkatha seat has the most such candidates at 11.

BJP: 30 candidates (83% of total candidates in first phase)

JMM: 18 (78%)

Congress: 16 (94%)

RJD: 4 (80%)

JD(U): 2 (100%)

AJSUP: 2 (50%)

LJP(RV): 1 (100%)

The richest candidates in this phase are Kandomani Bhumij, contesting Potka as an Independent, with assets worth Rs 80 crore; Krishna Nand Tripathi, contesting Daltonganj for the Congress, with assets worth Rs 70.9 crore; and Ayush Ranjan, contesting Ranchi as an Independent, with assets worth Rs 70.55 crore.

Youngest: 6 candidates aged 25, the minimum age to contest, including one from RJD and four Independents

Oldest: 80-year-old Har Prasad Singh Solanki, contesting for the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) from Baharagora

Seraikela | Former JMM CM and sitting MLA Champai Soren, BJP, vs former BJP leader Ganesh Mahali, JMM

Jaganathpur | Former Congress CM Madhu Koda’s wife and ex-MP Geeta Koda, BJP, vs sitting MLA Sona Ram Sinku, Congress

Manoharpur | Singhbhum MP Joba Manjhi’s son Jagat Manjhi, JMM, vs Dinesh Chandra Boipai, AJSUP

Ghatsila | Champai Soren’s son Babulal Soren, BJP, vs sitting MLA and Cabinet minister Ram Das Soren, JMM

Jamshedpur East | Former BJP CM Raghubar Das’s daughter-in-law Purnima Sahu, BJP, vs former IPS officer Ajoy Kumar, Congress

Potka | Former BJP CM and ex-Union minister Arjun Munda’s wife Meera Munda, BJP, vs sitting MLA Sanjib Sardar, JMM