More than 65 lakh voters in four parliamentary constituencies in Jharkhand will elect their representatives from among 61 candidates contesting in the fifth phase of polling in the Lok Sabha elections on May 6. For Jharkhand, this is the second phase of LS elections.

In the first phase of elections in Jharkhand (and the fourth in India), held on April 29, voting was conducted in the three seats of Palamu, Chatra, and Lohardaga, which witnessed a sizeable jump in voter turnout despite the blistering heat in the region. The state has 14 Lok Sabha seats.

Khunti, which will vote along with the Ranchi, Koderma, and Hazaribag constituencies on May 6, is the only one reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates.

This phase is crucial for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as it aims to retain all the four seats it had won in the last Lok Sabha election in 2014. A number of high-profile candidates contesting the election also makes this round interesting. LK Kundan, who teaches political science at Ranchi University, said that the stakes were high for the BJP in this phase. “The party [has] new faces in Ranchi, Khunti, and Koderma. New faces are at times riskprone,” said Kundan. “For the opposition Grand Alliance, excluding the Left parties was a big mistake,” he said.

Two former chief ministers, BJP’s Arjun Munda from Khunti and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) leader Babulal Marandi, are in the fray in Koderma. Union minister of state Jayant Sinha of BJP and former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay of the Congress are contesting from Hazaribag and Ranchi, respectively.

Khunti has been a BJP citadel and been represented by former Lok Sabha deputy speaker Karia Munda eight times. The party has rested the veteran this time. The seat is dominated by tribals and Christian voters, and their voting pattern could determine the fate of Arjun Munda.

In Koderma, JVM(P) chief and first chief minister of Jharkhand Babulal Marandi is locked in a triangular fight with BJP and CPI(ML). He is the joint candidate of the opposition Grand Alliance in 2019. Marandi is the only tribal leader to have represented a general seat, Koderma, from the state in the Lok Sabha. He won the seat in 2004, 2006 by-election, and 2009.

The BJP has sprung a surprise by fielding Annapurna Devi, former RJD state president and four-time MLA from Koderma. She joined the ruling party just days before the BJP candidate for this seat was announced. Rajdhanwar MLA Rajkumar Yadav of CPI(ML) has made the Lok Sabha contest triangular in Koderma. He was the runner-up from the Lok Sabha seat in 2014.

Union minister of state Jayant Sinha is looking for a second term from Hazaribag, represented in the past by his father Yashwant Sinha, and is locked in a direct contest against the Congress’ Gopal Sahu.

Another direct flight is in Ranchi between former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay of the Congress and Sanjay Seth of

BJP, the latter making his electoral debut. The ruling party, however, faces a rebellion in the seat from outgoing MP Ramtahal Chaudhary, who was dumped due to the age factor. Chaudhary, who has represented the seat five times, has a strong hold over the dominant Kurmis in the seat.

First Published: May 06, 2019 10:02 IST