The five-phase Jharkhand assembly elections are underway, the first phase polls for the 13 seats passed off peacefully except for the few untoward incidents that happened on November 30. After the polls, all the frontline parties are claiming to win the maximum seats despite knowing the ground realities. Such statements are passed to attract the voters’ attention towards a party.
Rajnath looks confident
Seeing the situation in the state Union Minister Rajnath Singh looked confident on Sunday and claimed that BJP is set to form the next government in Jharkhand after the conclusion of first phase polls. While addressing a public meeting at Adityapur in Seraikela-Kharswan district, he said he discussed with a cross-section of people as well as political analysts about the first phase of the polls on Saturday. On the slowdown of the Indian economy, Singh said it is due to global cues.
BJP hopes to bag 9 to 10 seats
“The feedback indicated that the BJP is going to win 9 to 10 seats out of the 13 constituencies that went to polls in the first phase on Saturday… We will form a majority government in the state,” the Union Defence Minister said.
BJP raises core issues
The BJP is once again playing its old card in the election campaign in Jharkhand to woo the voters. Such talks are in the air like abrogating Article 370, from Jammu and Kashmir, making ‘triple talaq’ a punishable act, and the announcement of “grand” Ram temple in Ayodhya following the Supreme Court verdict and the implementation of NRC across the country. These achievements have lost their significance.
Ball in voters’ court
The BJP raised such issues in Haryana and Maharashtra and failed to achieve its targeted goal. In general elections, national sentiment plays a vital role to mould the mind of the voters, but in assembly elections, local issues are preferred rather than a plethora of key issues. Jharkhand polls will be the complete analysis of CM Raghubar Das’ government progress report.
Solve local problems
People of the state need decent infrastructure, job opportunities, improvement in the overall conditions of the farmers and small entrepreneurs, good law and order situation, removal of bribery in government offices so that law-abiding citizens can spend their life without any fear.
Prabhakar quits BJP
While elections are in full swing, principal spokesman of the ruling party Praveen Prabhakar on Sunday decided to resign from the party. His decision not only surprised the top brass of the BJP in the state rather shocked many of them. Prabhakar has joined the National Peoples’ Party (NPP). This party is headed by Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma. Prabhakar was said to be unhappy with the way tickets were distributed by the party in the state. Therefore, dejected Prabhakar is set to contest from Nala as an NPP candidate, where elections will be held on December 20.
Aggressive campaign continues
There is no clear picture at this moment. Political leaders are campaigning aggressively for the second phase, they have left no stone unturned. Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s hostile speech is continuing to change the situation in favour of BJP. Chanakya of modern politics, Amit Shah along with several other senior party leaders, are also busy in pitching their voices in Jharkhand.
Missing CRPF jawan
A CRPF jawan Pradip Kumar Pal from Assam has been missing for the last 24 hour from Jharkhand’s Hunterganj area of Chatra district. He was deputed in the state on the election duty. He is untraceable. His colleagues are dejected and searching for him on a war footing. He is neither on duty nor at home.
Congress on improvement spree
The second phase for 20 seats will go for polling on December 7. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has arrived in Jharkhand. He is interacting with the people at Simdega today to unveil the weak points of the Union and state governments. The Congress is contesting for 31 out of the 81 seats in Jharkhand. Its other allies JMM and RJD are fighting for 43 and 7 seats respectively.
Rahul Gandhi has to show his maturity as a leader to sustain the interest of a large crowd although he showed a glimpse of maturity in Haryana, where people listened to his speech with interest. If he pulls the voters’ interest, then Congress once again has a chance to play a key role in government formation in Jharkhand like Maharashtra. It seems the Congress has been regaining its old image, voters haven’t ruled out the grand old party yet, rather it seems to be showing interest and sympathy to the Congress party.
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