Tag: AJSU-party

Polling peaceful in Jharkhand 4th phase, voting in 65 of 81 seats over.

Source – hindustantimes.com

Voting in the high-stakes fourth phase of Jharkhand assembly polls concluded on Monday. Voters came out in large number across 15 assembly constituencies, registering a 62.46% turnout, a marginal decline of 2.12% over 2014 assembly polls.

This phase will decide the fate of 221 candidates, including two ministers and 12 sitting legislators. Chief electoral officer (CEO) Vinay Kumar Choubey said, “Polling was peaceful with no untoward incident recorded from any constituency.”

He said the final voter turnout might change once the data is compiled in a couple of days. With this phase, polls have been completed in 65 of the 81 assembly seats in Jharkhand. Voters defied Maoists’ poll boycott call in a few pockets of Dhanbad and Giridih districts. Shankar Mahto, a voter in Sindri assembly constituency, said, “Polling started at 7am but the EVM was defunct by 9am. It was restored around 10.30am.”

Poll boycott was reported from a few booths in Jamua constituency under Giridih district. “We received reports of poll boycott from a few booths but it is being verified,” Choubey said.

The fate of several prominent candidates, including revenue and land reform minister Amar Kumar Bauri, labour, employment and training minister Raj Paliwar and former ministers Mannan Mallick, Haji Hussain Ansari and Mathura Mahto was sealed in the EVMs.

The phase is crucial for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as it had won 11 seats of the 15 in the 2014 assembly polls. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), AJSU Party, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) and Marxist Co-ordination Committee (MCC) bagged a seat each in the last assembly polls.

However, the BJP is confident of making clean sweep in the penultimate phase of Jharkhand polls. “We will win all 15 seats in the phase,” said BJP state spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo.

Likewise, Kishor Nath Shahdeo, spokesperson of the Congress, which allied with JMM and RJD, said, “We are giving good fight on 12 seats and hoping to win them all.” He said, “Voters’ aspirations remained unfulfilled in the past five years, there is resentment against the BJP. So, people have turned up to show their support for alliance candidates.”

BJP Blames Jharkhand Ally AJSU For Failing To Reach Seat Adjustments.

Source – ndtv.com

JAMSHEDPUR: The BJP on Monday held its NDA ally AJSU party responsible for not being able to reach a seat-sharing arrangement between the two parties for the Jharkhand assembly polls.

Except for two-three seats, the AJSU party cannot make any dent into the BJP’s poll prospects in the elections, BJP state unit president Laxman Gilua claimed.

“The BJP had given eight seats to the AJSU party in 2014 assembly polls. This time, the party was ready to consider 13 to 14 seats. But AJSU president Sudesh Mahto was rigid on his claim of 18 to 22 seats,” Mr Gilua told PTI.

Mr Mahto had earlier said his party had given a list of 17 candidates for consideration by the BJP.

“The BJP is a national party and should be respected as such. They should have agreed on seats proportionately,” he said referring to the regional status the AJSU party has.

So far the BJP has announced names of 73 contestants for the five-phase Jharkhand assembly elections to be held between November 30 and December 23. On the other hand, the AJSU party has released lists of 27 candidates so far for the 81-member House.

Till now, the two NDA partners will come face to face in 19 constituencies.

However, none of them has officially admitted that they have parted ways, leaving the scope open for a post-poll alliance.

The BJP and the AJSU have been allies ever since Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar on November 15, 2000, with Mahto going on to become a deputy chief minister with the Home portfolio.

Mr Mahto lost the 2014 election from Silli seat and also failed to win a bypoll to the same constituency later.


Jharkhand Assembly Polls 2019: AJSU party announces first list.

Source – moneycontrol.com

Jharkhand’s ruling NDA constituent, the AJSU party, on November 11 announced the first list of 12 candidates.

Party president Sudesh Kumar Mahto was re-nominated to contest from Silli assembly constituency. Mahto had lost the seat in 2014 assembly polls.

The party also named Jharkhand Water Resources Minister Ramchandra Sahis to contest from Jugsalai, a party release issued here said.

The AJSU party also nominated Kushwaha Shiv Pujan Mehta, who won the Hussainabad seat on Bahujan Samaj Party ticket in 2014 assembly elections and recently joined the AJSU party, from the same constituency.

Former minister Umakant Razzak has been re-nominated to contest from Chandankiyari, which he lost in the last polls.

Niru Shanti Bhagat, who has been re-nominated from Lohardaga, is the wife of party leader Kamal Kishore Bhagat, who won the seat in 2014, but was disqualified after his conviction in a case. In the subsequent bypoll held in December 2015, Sukhdeo Bhagat, contesting on Congress ticket defeated Niru Shanti Bhagat.

Sukhdeo Bhagat, who held the post of Jharkhand PCC president, joined the BJP last month, apparently with the hope of getting Lohardaga seat.

Lohardaga is not in the BJP’s first list of 52 candidates announced on Sunday.

The five-phase election to the Jharkhand assembly is beginning on November 30 and the last phase will be held on December 20.Counting will be taken up on December 23.