A file photo of Seeta Soren, who recently joined the BJP. | Photo Credit: PTI
With the final phase of voting in the Indian Lok Sabha elections underway, all eyes have shifted to the Santal region of Jharkhand, where voting is going on for three assembly seats – Dumka, Rajmahal and Godda.
Sixteen of the 18 constituencies in six districts — Deogarh, Godda, Sahebganj, Pakur, Dumka and Jamtara — are grouped together as Santal Pargana. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is seeking to retain its two seats. It won Godda and Dumka in the 2019 general elections, but lost Rajmahal to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
Read also: PM Modi in Jharkhand’s Dumka says JMM and Congress are big crocodiles that are plundering huge amounts of money
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 12 of Jharkhand’s 14 Lok Sabha seats, but in state assembly elections later that year the BJP could only win four of Santal Pargana’s 18 seats.
With just a month to go before the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP’s prestige is at stake as Sita Soren, the eldest daughter of JMM founder Shibu Soren, who left the BJP to join it, is running as the saffron party’s candidate from Dumka.
Dumka comprises six constituencies – Jamtara, Shikaripara, Nala, Dumka, Jama and Sarath. The constituency is associated with the JMM and Soren has represented the constituency six times since he was first elected in 1989. Currently, the constituency is represented by Sunil Soren, who lost the seat from the BJP in the recent elections.
Basant Soren, brother of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is in jail on land scam charges, is the MP from Dumka. Nara MP Rabindra Nath Mahato is the Congress president and the JMM has an advantage.
Nalin Soren, a seven-time Shikaripara MP, will be taking on Sita Soren. Dumka Assembly seat is also an important one for the BJP as the party’s state president Babulal Marandi had represented the constituency twice, in 1998 and 1999.
In Godda, incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey will face off against Congress candidate Pradeep Yadav. In the 2019 general elections, Dubey led in all six assembly constituencies – Jhalmundi, Madhupur, Deogarh, Poreyahat, Godda and Mahagama. In the last Lok Sabha elections, Yadav had contested the seat on the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajtantrik) ticket.
Dubey has served as a member of Congress for three consecutive terms, having first been elected in 2009.
Godda constituency has a sizeable Muslim voter population, followed by Brahmins, Yadavs and tribals. Four of the six assembly constituencies are held by the Indian National Development Alliance (INDIA), while the BJP holds two constituencies – Deogarh and Godda.
Abhishek Jha, grandson of former Bihar Chief Minister Vinodanand Jha, is also in the race as an independent candidate, which could erode Brahmin votes that would have gone to Dubey, who has strong support among members of the Panda community.
Dubey is seeking votes alleging that at his behest, an airport and an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) facility were built in Deoghar apart from the extension of the railway line.
Meanwhile, the Rajmahal constituency, reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs), is currently held by the JMM and the party has fielded sitting MP Vijay Hansda against BJP candidate Tara Marandi.
The election has become a three-way fight with JMM rebel Robin Hemblom, who represents Borio Assembly constituency, entering the election as an independent candidate. With two more candidates contesting in the constituency, serious doubts have been raised about the fate of the JMM in Rajmahal constituency, which has six assembly constituencies – Borio, Balkhite, Ritipala, Pakur, Maheshpur and Rajmahal.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has fielded Gopen Soren as its candidate while the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has fielded Paul Soren, who could make a dent in the Muslim voter base.
The JMM is also facing difficulties following the arrest of its Congress member from Pakur and currently jailed Jharkhand state minister Alamgir Alam, who wielded influence over the Muslim vote.
