New Delhi: Elections for 81 Assembly seats in Jharkhand will be held in five phases, beginning from November 30, and the results will be announced on December 23. The first phase of election will be held in 13 constituencies on November 30 and a total of 189 are in the fray.
Voting will take place in Chatra (SC), Gumla (ST), Bishunpur (ST), Lohardaga (ST), Manika (ST), Latehar (SC), Panki, Daltonganj, Bishrampur, Chhatarpur (SC), Hussainabad, Garhwa and Bhawanathpur seats in the first phase. The key candidates in the first phase of election are Chamra Linda, Jharkhand Mukti Morch (JMM) MLA, from Bishunpur, Radhakrishna Kishore of All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) from Chhatarpur and Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Bhanu Pratap Sahi from Bhawanathpur.
The main parties in Jharkhand are the BJP, JMM, AJSU, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM), Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal. JD(U)-led by Nitish Kumar too is contesting the election but is not one of the front-runners. Congress has an alliance with JMM while BJP and AJSU, who earlier fought the elections together, have decided to go alone. In 2014, BJP formed the government with AJSU with Raghubar Das as the chief minister.
Before the first phase of election, here's a list of winners in 2009 and 2014 polls:
2009
| Constituency | Winning Candidate | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Chatra (SC) | Janardan Paswan | RJD |
| Gumla (ST) | Kamlesh Oraon | BJP |
| Bishunpur (ST) | Chamra Linda | RAKAP |
| Lohardaga (ST) | Kamal Kishor Bhagat | AJSUP |
| Manika (ST) | Harikrishna Singh | BJP |
| Latehar (SC) | Baidyanath Ram | BJP |
| Panki | Bidesh Singh | IND |
| Daltonganj | Krishna Nand Tripathi | INC |
| Bishrampur | Chandrashekhar Dubey | INC |
| Chattarpur (SC) | Sudha Choudhary | JD(U) |
| Hussainabad | Sanjay Kumar Singh Yadav | RJD |
| Garhwa | Satyendra Nath Tiwari | JVM |
| Bhawanathpur | Anant Pratap Deo | INC |
2014
| Constituency | Winning Candidate | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Chatra (SC) | Jay Prakash Singh Bhogta | BJP |
| Gumla (ST) | Shivshankar Oraon | BJP |
| Bishunpur (ST) | Chamra Linda | JMM |
| Lohardaga (ST) | Kamal Kishore Bhagat | AJSUP |
| Manika (ST) | Harikrishn Singh | BJP |
| Latehar (SC) | Prakash Ram M | JVM Comb |
| Panki | Bidesh Singh | INC |
| Daltonganj | Alok Kr Chaurasiya | JVM |
| Chattarpur (SC) | Radha Krishna Kishore | BJP |
| Hussainabad Kushwaha | Shivpujan Mehta | BSP |
| Garhwa | Satyendra Nath Tiwari | BJP |
| Bhawanathpur | Bhanu Pratap Shahi | NSAM |
The second phase of election will be held on December 7.
