Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) stake in 13 Assembly seats going to poll in first phase of elections on November 30 is high as they are considered to be traditional bastion of BJP. The 13 seats going on poll on the first phase are Chatra (SC), Gumla (ST), Bishunpur (ST), Lohardaga (ST), Manika (SC), Latehar (SC), Panki, Daltonganj, Bishrampur, Chattarpur (SC), Hussainabad, Garhwa and Bhawanthpur.
Out these 13 seats, in last Assembly election seven Assembly constituencies were won by BJP. Daltonganj, Bhawanthpur, Latehar and Lohardaga – seats that were earlier won by JVM (P) and Congress—too came under BJP, as MLAs of these constituencies joined the BJP.
JVM(P) MLA from Daltonganj, Alok Chaurasia along with five other JVM(P) MLAs on February 2015 joined BJP in presence of Chief Minister Raghubar Das and others senior BJP leaders.
The six JVM(P) MLAs who joined BJP included Naveen Jaiswal (Hatia), Amar Kumar Bauri (Chandankiyari), Ganesh Ganju (Simeria), Alok Kumar Chourasia (Daltonganj), Randhir Singh (Sarath) and Janki Yadav (Barkatha).Congress party’s former state president and sitting MLA from Lohardaga Sukhdeo Bhagat along with party MLA from Barhi and senior Congressman Manoj Yadav joined the party last month. Along with Bhagat, Bhawanthpur MLA Bhanu Pratap Shahi too joined the saffron party. Also, in September JVM (P) MLA from Latehar Prakash Ram joined the BJP.If Sukhdeo Bhagat, Alok Chaurasia, Prakash Ram and Shahi are considered then the ruling party has eleven MLAs in Saffron camp. A senior BJP leader requesting anonymity said, “The BJP is in a much stronger position in first phase on November 30 as presently we have 11 MLAs. We are hopeful of making a clean sweep in first phase aiming to win 10 to 12 seats in first phase.” The BJP leader claimed that out of 13 seats going to polls in first phase, there are many constituencies including Bhawanthpur and Panki which the party has never won in last two decades, however, this time party is hopeful of winning these seats as permutations and combinations in these two seats have changed a lot after leaders from opposition camp have joined BJP.
The leader further said, “Opposition leaders such as Bhanu Pratap Shahi, Sukhdeo Bhagat, Alok Chaurasia, Prakash Ram, former RJD state president and ex MLA from Garhwa Girinath Singh, former JMM candidate from Panki Kushwaha Shashi Bhushan Prasad Mehta and former RJD leader Manoj Bhuyian who have joined BJP are popular leaders in their respective constituencies.”
These leaders are not only popular in their constituencies but have influence in Palamu and Lohardaga parliamentary seats too.With Bhanu, Girinath Singh, Mehta, Chaurasia and Bhuyian BJP aims to target upper caste Rajputs, OBC and scheduled caste voters which play a deciding role in Palamu parliamentary constituency.
Similarly, with Sukhdeo Bhagat the saffron party aims to woo tribal votebank in Lohardaga parliamentary constituency.