The ‘Mahagathbandhan’ allies on Monday predicted a victory for their candidates in the four constituencies of Jharkhand that voted in the fifth phase of the 17th General Elections, claiming that an ‘anti incumbency’ wave was evident at and around the polling stations.
The second phase of elections in Jharkhand on Monday saw participation of political heavy weights from the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ fold, including Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) chief Babulal Marandi from Koderma and former union minister Subodh Kant Sahay from Ranchi. Congress party’s Kalicharan Munda and Gopal Sahu battled it out in Khunti and Hazaribag constituencies respectively. The Grand Alliance candidates went on a head on contest against Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) incumbent candidates in all the four constituencies –Ranchi, Koderma, Khunti, Hazaribag— that went to polls on Monday.
“The polling trend in the four constituencies indicates that Subodh Kant Sahay in Ranchi, Kalicharan Munda in Khunti, Gopal Sahu in Hazaribag and Babulal Marandi in Koderma will win with a comfortable margin,” said Lal Kishorenath Shahdeo, spokesperson of Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC).
Pointing out at the voters’ turnout, Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) said that the poll percentage indicated a victory for the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ candidates.
“Mahagathbandhan candidates will win with a huge margin in Koderma and Khunti. The wave for anti incumbency was evident among the voters here. The polling percent also indicates that the elections will not go in favour of the BJP,” said RJD’s Jharkhand General Secretary Kailash Yadav.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which did not field a candidate for any of the four constituencies but backed the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ candidates, said that the polling percentage stayed on the lower side due to the scorching heat. The second largest party in the Jharkhand Assembly also took jibes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for addressing an election rally in Jharkhand on the day of polling.
“Modiji always finds a way to address rallies in Jharkhand on the day of polling. Even during the first phase of elections, he was here. Modiji’s posters were visible in different parts of Ranchi even on the day of polling. Sarwa Siksha Abhiyaan posters put up at schools that doubled up as polling stations on Monday also had Modiji and Chief Minister Raghubar Das’ pictures,” said Supriyo Bhattacharya, General Secretary of JMM, adding that the Model Code of Conduct was only applicable on the opposition parties and not the Prime Minister.
The Congress party is playing the role of a big brother in the Grand Alliance and is contesting seven of the 14 seats here. The BJP, on the other hand, has given one seat to its old ally AJSU-party and has fielded candidates in the remaining 13 constituencies.