NEW DELHI: Jharkhand is all set for the second phase of the high-stakes battle of ballots. Voting will be held tomorrow in 38 constituencies spread across 12 districts of the state. The first phase of the Jharkhand polls was held in 43 of 81 assembly seats on November 13.
Phase 2 elections will decide the fate of several top leaders including chief minister Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana and his brother Basant Soren besides more than 500 other candidates. The second phase covers constituencies in three divisions — 18 each in Santhal Pargana and North Chotanagpur each and two in South Chotanagpur.
Hemant Soren, who spearheaded the INDIA bloc campaign, is contesting from Barhait, a JMM stronghold in the Santhal Pargana division. Representing the constituency since 2014, he seeks to extend the party’s unbroken dominance there since 1990.
Basant Soren, Hemant’s younger brother, is vying to retain Dumka, a politically prestigious seat and the second capital of Jharkhand. Dumka holds historical significance for the Soren family, having been a stronghold for Shibu Soren during his political heydays.
The chief minister’s wife Kalpana Soren is contesting from Gandey in Giridih district. Kalpana entered politics after Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate. She won the bypoll in June and then went on to emerge as one of the JMMM’s most active campaigners.
The BJP made infiltration the key theme of its Jharkhand campaign and unleashed a strong attack against the Soren government over the issue. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who anchored the party’s campaign set the stage for this attack. Led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, all star campaigners of the BJP accused the JMM and the Congress of turning a blind eye to Bangladeshi infiltrators in the state in a bid to appease them for political gains.
INDIA bloc leaders including Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Hemant Soren and his wife Kalpana campaigned extensively. They promised welfare schemes and accused the BJP-led Centre of “unleashing” ED and CBI against the rival parties.