Jharkhand Assembly polls: Voting for Phase 1 begins
The first phase of the Jharkhand Assembly election began on Wednesday with 43 of the total 81 seats at stake. The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has fielded candidates in 23 constituencies, while its allies—the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)—have fielded 17 and five candidates, respectively. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contesting in all constituencies with 36 candidates.
Key figures and campaign promises dominate Jharkhand elections
The election spotlight is on former Chief Minister Champai Soren and his son Babulal Soren, Meera Munda (wife of former CM Arjun Munda), Geeta Koda (wife of Madhu Koda), and Purnima Sahu (daughter-in-law of Raghuvar Das). The JMM-led coalition eyes a second term, banking on welfare schemes like the Maiyan Samman Yojana. Meanwhile, the BJP's campaign rests on pledges such as implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), giving ₹2,100/month to every woman, and creating five lakh employment opportunities for youth.
BJP's star-studded campaign and 2019 election recap
The BJP's campaign has been bolstered by high-profile leaders such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. In the last 2019 elections, JMM won 30 seats while BJP bagged 25. However, the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance was able to form a majority government with 47 seats.
By-elections coincide with Jharkhand's 1st phase
Along with the Jharkhand election, by-polls are also being held on 31 assembly seats across 10 states and the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala. This includes seven seats in Rajasthan, six in West Bengal, five in Assam, four in Bihar, three in Kerala, two in Madhya Pradesh and one each in Meghalaya, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. Notably, two Sikkim Krantikari Morcha candidates were declared unopposed winners on October 30.
