Jharkhand witnessed an intense campaign ahead of the two-phase assembly election, with prominent leaders from both the NDA and the INDIA bloc holding a series of rallies across the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah led the charge for the BJP, while Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Rahul Gandhi spearheaded rallies for their party.
However, what stood out was Rahul Gandhi’s notable absence from rallies of his alliance partner, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed just six election rallies each in the state. However, all of them were for Congress candidates and did not campaign for the JMM, which apparently led to disappointment among Hemant Soren’s party.
The party leaders, however, defended this, saying that both Gandhi and Kharge were preoccupied. They explained that they had to focus on the Lok Sabha bypoll in Wayanad as well, where Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi made her electoral debut on November 13.
Party sources also said that all alliance leaders were leaving no stone unturned to ensure the victory of the INDIA bloc and that neither the Congress campaign was weak nor was it limited to its own candidates. The leaders also asserted that the party was fully loyal and committed to the alliance.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his wife Kalpana Soren were available for all INDIA bloc candidates upon their request. They addressed more than 90 rallies each. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav also campaigned for Congress candidates.
The Congress is contesting 30 seats, while the JMM is contesting 41 seats, RJD is contesting six, and the Left parties are contesting four.
BJP has fielded candidates in 68 seats while allies AJSU Party in 10, JD(U) in two and Lok Janshakti (Ram Vilas) in one.
In the 2019 assembly elections, the contest was close, with the JMM winning 30 seats and the BJP securing 25, down from 37 in 2014. The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance won a comfortable majority with 47 seats.
The first phase of voting was held on November 13, and the second phase is underway on Wednesday. The votes will be counted on November 23.
Congress has drawn flak for its weak campaign and for unveiling its manifesto during the silence period, just a day before the first phase of polls in Jharkhand on November 13.
