Tag: jharkhand

India’s BJP loses polls in Jharkhand where lynchings killed many.

Source – aljazeera.com

India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lost control of the eastern state of Jharkhand , which made headlines in the past few years for a series of mob lynchings – mostly over cows, an animal considered sacred by some Hindus.

The results of the state assembly polls, declared on Monday, showed a pre-election alliance of the regional Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Indian National Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) winning 47 of the 81 seats.

The BJP, which ruled the state since 2014, won 25 seats, according to the Jharkhand state’s election commission.

The Hindu nationalist BJP’s loss of a state it has ruled since 2014 is being seen as a setback for the policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mob lynchings

These are the second state elections the BJP has lost since returning to power with a thumping majority in the general elections in May.

“People here are angry with the BJP, the results show this,” Hemant Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, who is tipped to become the chief minister, was quoted as saying by the NDTV news channel. His party
won the largest number of seats at 30.

Among the issues that angered the electorate was nearly 20 cases of mob lynchings of mostly Muslims in the resource-rich state by Hindu vigilante groups believed to be affiliated to the ruling BJP.

In June this year, Tabrez Ansari, 24, was beaten to death by a mob in Jharkhand’s Kharsawan district on suspicion of theft, causing a public uproar.

In 2016, Imtiaz Khan, a 12-year-old schoolboy, and Majloom Ansari, a 32-year-old cattle trader, were abducted, beaten and hanged from a tree in the state’s Latehar district. Eight people were found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Since 2012, at least 133 cow-related attacks were reported in India, leading to 50 deaths and more than 290 injuries, according to a FactChecker.in database that records such attacks.

About 98 percent or 130 of the crimes recorded in the database took place after 2014, when the BJP first came to power at the centre, and in Jharkhand state later that year.

Polls in middle of protests

Three of the five rounds of voting in Jharkhand were held in the middle of a sometimes deadly wave of nationwide protests triggered by a new citizenship law, which critics say discriminates against Muslims and has brought thousands of people out on to the streets in opposition.READ MORE

The polls in Jharkhand opened on November 30, before the demonstrations kicked off. However, the BJP’s defeat will be a shot in the arm for India’s opposition parties, some of which have used popular anger against the Citizenship Amendment Act to their advantage.

The Modi government insists that the law is needed to help persecuted non-Muslim minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who came to India before 2015 by giving them Indian citizenship.

In a show of strength on Monday, the BJP staged a protest, attended by several hundred people, in Kolkata in support of the CAA.

“It is wrong to treat the Jharkhand results as a referendum on the citizenship law. State assembly elections are fought on local issues,” BJP spokesman Gopal Krishna Agarwal said.

Since January 2018, the BJP has lost state elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra states.

The next polls are expected in the national capital territory of Delhi in February next year.

Decoding Jharkhand verdict: Why JMM-Congress poll win is a game changer.

Source – indiatoday.in

Jharkhand has voted the BJP out in a big-impact mandate, six months after the party handed a massive Lok Sabha election victory to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The verdict favoured the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance which rode a Chhattisgarh-like tribal backlash as the BJP faltered on many political fronts.

The debacle has been made tougher to swallow for the BJP by the loss of sitting Chief Minister Raghubar Das. He lost Jamshedpur East with a margin of 15,833 votes. He had won the seat with a margin of 70,000 votes in 2014. It proved conclusively that the BJP government in the state suffered crippling anti-incumbency.

The Jharkhand loss is yet another derailment the once unbeatable Modi-Shah electoral juggernaut has suffered and this will impact the BJP, the NDA and the overall politics.

A look at India’s political map shows the BJP’s rise and slide in the last three years. In 2017, the Modi-Shah duo had the BJP/NDA flag fluttering over almost 70 per cent of the country. By the time the Shiv Sena took charge of Maharashtra with the NCP and the Congress, the saffron footprint was down to a little over 40 per cent. Jharkhand will bring it down to 35 per cent.

The Jharkhand verdict underlines a new pattern that should worry the BJP. The party’s failure to keep allies is being attributed to the heavier muscle the majority 2019 verdict has given to the BJP. The party has been trumped by regional player JMM like Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra. And again PM Modi’s bête noire, the Congress, has a hand in the BJP’s loss, like in Maharashtra.

WHAT WENT WRONG

The BJP over estimated its strength to begin with. Its ally AJSU wanted 20-odd seats. The BJP didn’t want to give more than 15. Tight fisted and big brotherly, the BJP made a Plan B and decided to go alone.

Some party leaders said that it felt an out-of-alliance AJSU will make the contest multi-party and split the votes against it. The mandate shows this was a blunder. The BJP plus AJSU as allies in 2014 had polled 35 per cent (BJP 31 per cent and AJSU 4 per cent). This time, the BJP polled 34 per cent and AJSU 9 per cent but their seats plummeted.

Speaking to India Today TV, BJP spokesperson Aman Sinha denied that the party has been handed a drubbing. He said, “The party’s vote share has gone up.”

But a close look at the results shows the share is up as it contested 81 seats compared to 70 last time.

The sitting CM’s loss showcases the huge anti-incumbency against the BJP government in the state despite the PM and the central government still enjoying immense popularity.

The BJP’s defeat has multilayered reasons. In 2014, the party chose Raghubar Das, a nontribal leader, as chief minister for a tribal-dominated state. It created a disruptive political template to transcend the caste divide and reduce the whip of the dominant voting group.

But after the five-year rule, the BJP has won just two of the tribal-dominated seats. The decimation is a sign that the BJP’s disruptive template flopped as its actions antagonised the dominant tribals.

The changes it proposed to the Shanthal Parganas Tenancy Act and Chhota Nagpur Tenancy Act threatened tribals’ right over land. The tribals didn’t get a share in jobs in the state. Para teachers’ and Anganwadi workers’ protests faced hostile police crackdown. The state government brought the anti-conversion bill which was ferociously opposed by the tribals.

The government’s delivery of welfare schemes was terrible in a state which has 46 per cent people below the poverty line (the national average is 28 per cent). The government could not create jobs and economic achchhe din as 44 per cent investment projects remained stalled between 2016-19.

The Opposition could paint the BJP anti-tribal led by an “outsider CM” as Das was born in Chhattisgarh.

The JMM whose founder Shibu Soren had led a huge uprising of the tribals first against “mahajani pratha” or money lenders’ oppression and then the battle for a separate state of Jharkhand became the immediate beneficiary. Allies Congress and RJD brought the anxiety driven minority vote as the BJP raised issues like Article 370, Ram Mandir, CAA and NRC.

The PM and the BJP tried in vain to make up for local dissatisfaction by bringing in national issues and a polarising push. The party has paid a price for poor brand management yet again.

Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta, speaking to India Today TV, said, “The state unit can’t be held solely responsible for the loss. Everyone has to share the blame. The BJP has to realise that it needs a local profile which is distinct and in sync with the national party. When it comes to alliance, the party needs to realise regional aspirations can play within the national fold in the presence of a dominant party”

JHARKHAND POLL RESULT IMPLICATION

The political map of India presents a worrying picture for the BJP. From Rajasthan in the west to Bengal in the east, one can travel without driving through a BJP-ruled state.

Due to this, the perception about the Modi-Shah duo’s capability to create successful political strategies has taken a serious hit ahead of crucial elections in Delhi, West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu.

The biggest impact will be on the BJP’s relations with existing and future allies. The party is no more the same heavy-duty coalition magnet. Since 2017, it has lost PDP, TDP, Shiv Sena and AJSU.

Allies like Nitish Kumar, for example, may feel emboldened and seek more or equal share in seats in Bihar. Already Nitish has spoken against NRC and it may force the BJP to put the controversial move that is close to its heart on the back burner. Future partners may also ask for greater space.

Another state loss means the BJP’s position in Rajya Sabha may not improve anytime in near future and keep the party dependent on non-NDA players like the AIADMK and the BJD.

The Modi government’s legislative capability will take a hit as Constitutional amendments need ratification by 50 per cent state assemblies.

The Jharkhand loss is ill-timed too. The central government is facing a negative perception over the economic slowdown and nationwide protests. This may impact the BJP cadre’s morale.

Jharkhand Poll Result Sends Ripples Through Political Waters of Bihar as Assembly Elections Inch Closer.

Source – news18.com

Patna: Results of the assembly polls in Jharkhand sent ripples through the political waters of Bihar, the parent state out of which the tribal-dominated region was carved out in 2000, capping a movement that had continued for close to a century.

Lalu Prasad’s RJD, once formidable but down in the dumps for some time, erupted in joy over the triumph of the JMM-led alliance, in which it is a minor partner, as it kindled hopes of replicating the success in Bihar where assembly elections are less than a year away.

At the party’s state headquarters here on the Birchand Patel Marg, RJD workers began distributing sweets no sooner than the trends started pouring in and chanted slogans vowing to help Tejashwi Yadav their young chief ministerial candidate for Bihar, who had been actively involved in electioneering in Jharkhand to power.

The party relished the thought of being a part of the winning combination in the adjoining state, even though its own strike rate was far from impressive – winning only one out of the seven seats it had contested.

Shivanand Tiwary, RJD national vice president exuberantly said “why not” when asked by reporters if the party would like to join the new government in Jharkhand.

He termed the victory as “defeat of the BJP’s jingoistic politics” and questioned its “duplicity” on the matter of National Register for Citizens, “which has put the country on the boil”.

“The BJP’s official twitter handle says it has country-wide implementation of NRC on its agenda. So does its president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. But, Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday dismissed it as something off the radar. Why is the PM lying before the nation?” Tiwary asked.

The Congress – an alliance partner of the RJD both in Bihar and Jharkhand – was also buoyed by the poll outcome in the neighbouring state. Leader of the legislative party Sadanand Singh, who has headed the Bihar Congress in the past, advocated “all non-BJP forces, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar” to heed “the need for coming together to defeat the BJP”.

Kumar, who is running a coalition government with the BJP, has been drawing opposition flak after his party voted in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Act, which allegedly discriminates against Muslims.

He has, however, attempted damage control by asserting that he is opposed to NRC as its “combo” with CAA was what made the new law troublesome.

The BJP, which has been on a roll for quite some time and a section of its leaders desirous of putting an end to playing second fiddle to Nitish Kumar, appeared chastened and sought to downplay its defeat in Jharkhand by attributing it to “local factors”.

“The result of Jharkhand must be viewed with reference to local factors and the agony of people because of unfulfilled individual grievances. The state government worked really well but failed to communicate well to the public. The party will assess the whole situation and scenario in coming days.

“The Jharkhand result will have no impact on Bihar because the demography and geography is completely different in both the states,” Bihar BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand said here in a statement.

The NDA government is working hard towards the development of Bihar, and “we are sitting pretty well to win the 2020 assembly election comfortably”, he added.

In Jharkhand, Congress borrows a strategy from Maharashtra’s Sharad Pawar.

Source – hindustantimes.com

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar’s campaign strategy in Maharashtra shaped the Congress’s line of campaigning in Jharkhand as it kept the focus on local issues, economy and jobs, and avoided getting into a debate on nationalism, as pushed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The state, where tribals play a key role in politics, witnessed a bitter battle of narratives. While the BJP made Article 370, Ayodhya and Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), now an Act (CAA), its poll plank, the Congress and its alliance partner Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) stuck to their tactic of keeping the rivals engaged on local matters, and limited their discourse on national issues to economic slowdown, price rise and unemployment.

The Congress had undoubtedly taken a leaf out of Pawar’s book as the Maratha leader during the Maharashtra elections successfully dodged the BJP’s nationalism narrative and extensively campaigned on local issues.

“It was deliberate on our part to keep the elections focussed on local issues and not fall into the BJP’s trap of making it nationalism-centered. We had also received feedback that there is strong anti-incumbency against BJP chief minister Raghubar Das and as such they will raise the pitch on Article 370, Ayodhya and the CAB,” said senior Congress leader Ajay Sharma. “We didn’t let that happen and kept the campaign entirely Jharkhand-centric.”

Sharma handled the Congress’s campaign in Ranchi and assisted the party’s Jharkhand in-charge, RPN Singh, in campaign strategy and planning.

He said the Congress also thwarted all attempts by the BJP to make it Prime Minister Narendra Modi-centric elections, as the ruling party decided to increase his number of rallies after assessing that the local leaders are not getting the required traction on the ground.

The Congress had crafted different campaign plan for each of the five phases of elections. The party had also planned to end the campaigning on December 18 with a rally by either Congress president Sonia Gandhi or party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The latter, eventually, addressed a public meeting along with JMM chief Hemant Soren at Pakur in the Santhal-Pargana region.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi addressed four rallies across the state.

“For the first time in 18 years, the Congress was in a fighting-fit form and we gave our best. Besides, the in-charge [RPN Singh] camped in the state for 40 consecutive days which never happened in the past,” said the party’s state working president, Rajesh Thakur.

But Jharkhand BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo dismissed the contention that the ruling party was on the back-foot on local issues and instead blamed the opposition alliance for polarising the elections.

“We started with ‘Ghar Ghar Raghubar’ campaign and talked about stability and development in the last five years of the BJP government. But the Congress and JMM leaders started polarising the elections by talking negatively about Article 370 and we responded by exposing their double standards,” Shahdeo said.

He claimed that the alliance also hit the panic button after getting the feedback that the minority voters were supporting the BJP in large numbers. “At the same time, national issues are always paramount for us. As far as increasing the Prime Minister’s number of rallies, the figures available suggest a clear 80.9% strike rate for him as compared to 18.1% that of Rahul Gandhi,” added Shahdeo.

But political analysts said the local issues dominated the poll discourse among a large section of voters during the elections. “Roti [bread], kapda [cloth] aur makaan [house] are important for all and they take precedence over national issues. Voters across the country have shown that they vote differently for national and state elections,” said LK Kundan, associate professor of the political science department at the Ranchi University.

The elections for the 81-member Jharkhand assembly were held in five phases between November 30 and December 20. The results will be declared on December 23.

As per their pre-poll agreement, the Congress is contesting 31 seats while the JMM 43 seats and the RJD seven.

On the other hand, the BJP and the All Jharkhand Students Union or AJSU Party could not come to an understanding and are fighting the elections separately.

“It is a ploy. They [BJP and AJSU] have been together for five years and will join hands after the elections. The people are seeing through their drama and will hand over a crushing defeat to them,” Sharma said.

Jharkhand election results to be announced today: All you need to know in 10 points.

Source – indiatoday.in

Votes for the Jharkhand Assembly election are being counted with the India Today-Axis My India exit poll predicting 22-32 seats for the ruling BJP, and 38-50 seats for the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-Congress alliance. As per the exit poll, JVM-P could win two to four seats while AJSU Party three to five and others four to seven. Jharkhand voted in five phases between November 30 and December 30 to elect a new government in the state.

Here’s all you need to know as results for the elections to the 81-member state assembly are announced.

1. The counting of votes for 81 Jharkhand Assembly seats began at 8 am. The counting of votes is taking place in all the 24 district headquarters. The maximum rounds of counting will take place at Chatra with 28 rounds and lowest round at two seats. Results will emerge by Monday afternoon.

2. Jharkhand is the third state to go to the polls since Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to power at the Centre on the back of a landslide BJP victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

3. Jharkhand voted between November 30 and December 30. The overall voter turnout was recorded at 65.17 per cent. Voting passed off peacefully across Jharkhand’s 81 assembly constituencies. This was the first time in the state’s 19-year history that voting took place without any violence by Maoists.

4. The primary contest in the Jharkhand assembly election is between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the alliance between the Congress and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).

5. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), All Jharkhand Students’ Union (AJSU) and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) are among the major political parties which are in the fray in the tribal-dominated state.

6. Among key candidates in Jharkhand, Raghubar Das is contesting from the Jamshedpur East seat against his ex-cabinet colleague Saryu Rai and Congress candidate Gourav Vallabh. Former Chief Minister Hemant Soren is the fray from two seats. He is pitted against Social Welfare Minister Louis Marandi at Dumka.

7. Former Chief Minister and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajantarik (JVM-P) president Babulal Marandi is fighting from Dhanwar Assembly seat. The AJSU president, who lost the 2014 Assembly poll, is trying his luck again from Silli seat.

8. Most exit polls for the Jharkhand assembly election have predicted a hung assembly in the state with an advantage to the Congress-JMM alliance. The India Today-Axis My India exit poll had the BJP winning between 22 and 32 seats, and the JMM-Congress alliance between 38 and 50 seats.

9. A party or alliance needs to win at least 41 seats to form government in Jharkhand.

10. After the 2014 Jharkhand assembly election, the BJP formed government under CM Raghubar Das, who went on to become the only chief minister to complete a full five-year term in the state. The BJP ran the government in alliance with the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU). However, the two contested the 2019 Jharkhand assembly elections separately.

Highlights|‘BJP took hard decisions’: PM Modi talks of Art 370, Ayodhya in Jharkhand.

Source – hindustantimes.com

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed two election rallies in poll-bound Jharkhand on Tuesday – one in Khunti and the other in Jamshedpur.

The five-phase elections to the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly began on November 30 and will end on December 20. Counting of votes will take place on December 23.

Here are the highlights from his rally:

– Says the next five years are very important for the state and asks people to vote for the BJP.

– Talks about his government enacting law for reservation to economically weaker sections.

– PM Modi talks about the law on triple talaq, says BJP has worked to safeguard the rights of Muslim women.

– On the Ayodhya issue, PM Modi says there was conspiracy to delay the issue and the Congress used it for its vote bank. Adds, that such a big issue has been resolved peacefully and everyone has welcomed it.

– Talking about abrogating Article 370, PM Modi said, people of the country elected Modi to take hard decisions. Says, he only thinks about the country and that is why article 370, which had been in existence for decades, was revoked and the whole nation supported it.

– When it comes to taking hard decisions, only the BJP government could do it, says PM Modi. Says only the BJP can solve the problems of Jharkhand.

— PM Modi says BJP government is the first to think about people in the unorganised sector.

— PM blames previous governments for not making efforts to promote the production of tussar silk in the state. BJP government is moving forward with a vision to make Jharkhand a hub of tussar silk production.

– When there is BJP government in both Centre and state, the pace of development becomes faster: PM Modi.

– PM Modi talks about various government schemes launched by the BJP for the benefit of people.

– PM Modi says Jharkhand CM’s chair was up for sale during Congress-JMM rule.

– BJP gave stability to the state, says the PM. Adds, BJP’s double engine has worked for the benefit of Jharkhand.

– Says till five years ago, Jharkhand used to be in news for political instability. In just 15 years, the state saw 10 chief ministers. He blames Congress and JMM’s ‘selfishness’ for the instability.

– PM Modi asks people to remember the situation that existed five years ago, says there were only stories of corruption when the Congress-JMM alliance was in power. Adds, sveral of their leaders are still under trial.

– Ayushman Bharat scheme, world’s biggest health scheme, was launched in Jharkhand, says the PM.

– Jamshedpur is land of labour, land of enterprise; this land has fulfilled dreams of millions, enhanced India’s reputation in world: PM Modi at poll rally.

– I salute the spirit of the city and the founder of the city Jamshedji Nusarwan Tata: PM Modi.

– PM Modi says he is grateful for the presence of people in such large numbers. Says the numbers show that the BJP will get majority in the polls.

– PM Modi begins his address.

– PM Modi will shortly address an election rally in Jamshedpur. State chief minister Raghubar Das is the BJP candidate from Jamshedpur East assembly constituency.

– PM Modi appeals to the people to vote in large numbers to ‘reveal the lies of Congress and JMM’. Says, the election is for the development of Jharkhand. Asks people to remember the Lotus symbol.

– PM Modi warn people to be beware of Congress, says Congress has eyes on Jharkhand’s mineral wealth and want to loot it.

– BJP has made many efforts to promote tourism in the state and people from India and abroad come here to visit.

– Our government created the district mineral fund which stipulates that a certain percentage of revenue has to be spent in the district itself.

– Now that Jharkhand has turned 19, the next five years are very important for the state. Don’t miss the opportunity. I am always ready for you, just need your cooperation.

– The BJP government is giving special attention to tribal areas.  It was the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government which created a separate Jharkhand state and created a separate ministry of tribal affairs.

– PM Modi says JMM-Congress alliance’s politics is that of deception, while BJP’s is of service.

– Lord Ram left Ayodhya as prince but returned as ‘Maryada Purushottam’ as he spent time with Adivasis: PM Modi at poll rally.

– The issue of Ayodhya which the Congress and others kept on dragging for long has been peacefully resolved.

— Says in states ruled by the Congress, the governments have not been able to fulfil any of its promises and thus, people have been forced to take to roads.

– The double engine of BJP in Centre and state is working to make lives of farmers and tribals easier. There is direct transfer in the bank accounts of farmers.

– The BJP government in Jharkhand has broken the back of naxalism: PM Narendra Modi tells poll rally.

– People of Jharkhand have faith in BJP that it alone can ensure state’s development:

– Today in Jharkhand, there is solar power being generated; says Khunti has been joined with Paradip with an oil pipeline.

Jharkhand polls: 28.24% polling recorded till 11 am.

Source – indiatoday.in

Around 28.24 per cent of over 40 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 11 am on Friday in the fifth and final phase of Jharkhand Assembly elections, Election Commission (EC) officials said.

Long queues were seen before polling stations in the 16 constituencies with voters braving minimum temperatures hovering between 6.6 degrees Celsius and 10 degrees Celsius.

Voting will end at 3 pm in five constituencies while it will conclude at 5 pm in the remaining seats, they said.

The seats where polling is underway are Borio (ST), Barhait (ST), Litipara (ST), Maheshpur (ST), Sikaripara (ST), Rajmahal, Pakur, Nalla, Jamtara, Dumka (ST), Jama (ST), Jarmundi, Sarath, Poreyahat, Godda and Mahagama.

Altogether 40,05,287 electorate, including 19,55,336 women and 30 third gender voters, are eligible to cast their vote, Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer Vinay Kumar Choubey said.

Adequate security forces have been deployed, he said.

Of 5,389 polling stations, 396 in Naxal-affected areas have been marked as “critical” while 208 have been declared “sensitive”.

In all, 1,321 polling stations in non-left wing extremism affected areas have been marked as “critical” while 1,765 declared “sensitive”.

The Election Commission has set up 8,987 ballot units, 6,738 control units and 7,006 VVPAT machines.

Altogether, 249 polling stations have been marked as model booths.

As many as 133 polling stations have women staff while 1,347 have webcasting facilities, Choubey said.

BJP candidate and Jharkhand Agriculture Minister Randhir Singh is seeking re-election from Sarath.

State Women and Child Development Minister Louis Marandi is contesting against JMM’s working president and former chief minister Hemant Soren from Dumka.

Louis Marandi had defeated Soren in the 2014 assembly elections.

Like the previous Assembly polls when he contested from two seats, Soren is in the fray from Barhait as well.

Soren’s sister-in-law Sita Soren is seeking re-election from Jama.

The BJP, which is contesting on all 16 seats in this final phase, has fielded sitting MLAs Ashok Kumar Bhagat, Anant Ojha and Amit Mandal from Mahagama, Rajmahal and Godda assembly constituencies, respectively.

Former deputy chief minister and sitting JMM MLA Stephen Marandi is seeking re-election from Maheshpur.

The state president of the Janata Dal (United) and former MP, Salkhan Murmu, is contesting from Sikaripara.

The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance has fielded candidates from all 16 constituencies.

While the JMM has fielded nominees in 11 seats, the Congress and the RJD are contesting from four and one segments, respectively.

The Babulal Marandi-headed Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) has also fielded candidates in this round.

Candidates of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Lok Jan Shakti Party, AJSU Party and the Left are also in the fray.

Of the 81 assembly seats, elections had concluded in 65 constituencies in the previous four phases between November 30 and December 16.

Votes will be counted on December 23.

Polling underway for final phase of Jharkhand assembly elections.

Source – newsonair.com

Polling is underway for the fifth and final phase of Assembly elections in Jharkhand. 12 percent voting was recorded till 9 am.Voting is taking place for 16 constituencies spread over Sahebganj, Pakur, Dumka, Jamtara, Deoghar and Godda districts of Santhal Pargana region in this phase.

Polling in five Naxal infested assembly segments of Borio, Barhait, Litipara, Maheshpur and Sikaripara will be held between 7 AM and 3 PM. In the remaining 11 seats, voting will continue till 5 PM. 236 candidates including 29 women are in the fray for this phase.

Prominent among them are Jharkhand Ministers – Louis Marandi and Randhir Singh, JMM leader Hemant Soren, Congress leader Alamgir Alam and Pradeep Yadav of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people to exercise their franchise in the final phase Jharkhand elections. In a tweet, Mr Modi asked people to participate in this festival of democracy and vote in record numbers.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made for free, fair and peaceful polling. Jawans of central para military forces have been deployed at all booths. Over 41 thousand security personnel of state government have also been deployed.

Helicopters have been pressed into service for air patrolling. Borders with Bihar and West Bengal have been sealed to check infiltration of anti social elements. Chief Electoral Officer Vinay Kumar Choubey said, 1,347 polling booths are being monitored online, out of a total of over 5,300. 

NRC to affect Jharkhand tribals, say activists.

Source – telegraphindia.com

The protests that erupted across the country on Thursday against the amended citizenship law and the proposed all-India National Register of Citizens (NRC) echoed in Jharkhand as well, albeit in a low-key manner because of the model code of conduct.

Common citizens, representatives of civil society organisations and members of Left parties organised two protest marches in Ranchi and one in Jamshedpur. At the first march in Ranchi, the organisers pointed out that the NRC would affect tribals of the state. Adivasis enjoy land rights by tradition and most of their land is vested with village heads hence it will be difficult for them to show individual ownership of land, the activists pointed out. If the tribals can’t prove they own land how can they register in the NRC, the activists wondered.

Representatives of organisations such as Adivasi Adhikar Manch, Christian Yuva Manch, the Ranchi branch of the National Alliance for People’s Movement, Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (which is itself an umbrella organisation of various such outfits), All India Students’ Front, Adivasi Mahila Manch and Nagrik Adhikar Manch participated in the protest.

“The CAA is a divisive pronouncement of the BJP government,” Bharat Bhushan Chaudhary of the Mahasabha told the gathering.

“The government is using police machinery to quell the voice of protest,” said Praful Linda of the CPM, who also addressed the gathering at the Zilla School ground in Ranchi, citing the police firing in Assam and attack on students of Jamia Milia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University.

“The BJP has turned Jharkhand into a laboratory for carrying out anti-minority, anti-poor and anti-tribal experiments,” alleged Vivek Kumar, a Right to Food activist associated with the Mahasabha. “They cancelled scores of ration cards that resulted in starvation deaths in the state.”

Vivek pointed to the many mob lynching cases and the BJP government’s attempt to tweak the tenancy laws meant for protecting tribal land “just to favour chosen corporate houses”.

The gathering marched to Albert Ekka Chowk where they formed a human chain. Members of CPI, CPIM, CPI-ML and MCC marched from Sainik Bazar to Albert Ekka Chowk in the second protest.

In Jamshedpur, around 100 activists of CPI-ML, AISF and other outfits marched from Sakchi roundabout to the district collectorate.

“It was part of the national call of various organisation to protest against the CAA,” said Deepak Ranjeet of the Jharkhand Jantantrik Sabha. “We had asked activists not to shout provocative slogans or indulge in any kind of violence. We submitted a memorandum to the East Singhbhum DC.”

Jharkhand cricketers eye IPL hammer.

Source – telegraphindia.com

Indian Premier League (IPL) uncapped players from Jharkhand may well display their prowess at the cash-rich tournament beginning next year.

Though six players from the state, including M.S. Dhoni, have already been retained by their respective franchises, the likes of Saurabh Tiwary, Virat Singh, Rahul Shukla, Utkarsh Singh, Sushant Mishra, Ajay Sonu and Sumit Kumar will keep their fingers crossed during the IPL auction to be held in Calcutta on Thursday.

Barring Jharkhand Ranji skipper Tiwary and medium-pacer Shukla, the rest are so far uncapped in the IPL .

Chances of both Jamshedpur southpaws Tiwary and Virat look good as both have shown form with the willow. Tiwary scored a memorable century which helped Jharkhand win the last Ranji match against Tripura in Agartala recently, while Virat was in fine form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Tiwary, who has played for Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, will be looking to make a comeback in the slam-bang version of the game by getting sold in the auction.

Apart from Dhoni, other Jharkhand cricketers retained by the franchises include spinner Shahbaz Nadeem (Sunrisers Hyderabad), wicket-keeper-batsman Ishan Kishan (Mumbai Indians), pacer Varun Aaron (Rajasthan Royals), medium-pacer Monu Kumar (Chennai Super Kings) and Anukul Roy (Mumbai Indians).

Mahi has played all editions of the IPL and his performance will be key when it comes to his selection in the 2020 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia. But the former Team India skipper is at the fag end of his illustrious career and speculation about his retirement has been doing the rounds.

The IPL will be held during March or April and May next year across the country.