BJP’s senior leader Raghubar Das retained the prestigious Jamshedpur East seat for the fifth time, trouncing Congress candidate Anand Bihari Dubey by over 50,000 votes.
Das, the BJP national vice-president and a seasoned politician who started his tenure as an MlA during the time of undivided Bihar in 1995, took an early lead and registered overwhelming performance. Though poll pundits predicted a tight fight for Das, but he won with hands down. The 58-year-old said: “I’m happy to have won the seat for the fifth time. My win only goes to show that people of my constituency believed in development. I will continue to serve my constituency with dedication,” Das said. He said that the party will give a stable government.
Das said that he has served the people of Jamshedpur with heart and soul and saw no reason why people will not elect him again. Dubey, who fought hard to give challenge, could not match his BJP rival’s stature which has nearly 3 lakh votes. “I accept the mandate and will continue to work for the local people. I am happy to have polled over 30,000 votes. I gave my best,” Dubey said.
In 2009 elections, Das had defeated Abhay Singh in a close battle. He had received 56165 votes while Abhay Singh 33202 and Anand Bihari Dubey an independent candidate received 10944 votes. Das has a good track record. In 2005 elections too Das had received 52.96 per cent votes while Congress opponent Ramashray Prasad 38 per cent. In the year 2000, Das, then BJP state president, had received 63.9 per cent votes and K.P. Singh of Congress Party only 20.34 per cent.
According to poll pundits, Dubey worked very hard to play the caste card and consolidate Brahmin and other Hindu votes. He also branded Das as an outsider who has investments in his native Chhattisgarh. But still he failed to woo voters. The BJP nominee had been a four-time MlA before this election and enjoys a good support in his constituency. People did not accept the caste politics and voted for Das,” a poll watcher said.
Meanwhile, experts also opined that the NaMo wave also helped Das to sail through. Though he enjoys a strong hold in his constituency but after the JVM intense campaign of issues of ownership rights of 86 bastis and lack of facilities in slum areas, the fight had become intense. Both the groups were putting their best efforts to display their strength and garner good number of votes but in the end lotus bloomed.