DUMKA: It may not be a cakewalk for the lone AJSU (All Jharkhand Students Union) candidate Chandra Prakash Chaudhary from Giridih Lok Sabha seat, as he is facing opposition from BJP workers who allege that the MP did not have any contact with them for the last five years.
Of the 14 LS seats in the state, AJSU is contesting on only one seat under the seat-sharing formula of NDA. Chaudhary for the first time contested from Giridih on an AJSU ticket in 2019 and got elected. Youth leader and independent candidate Jairam Mahto, who has been doing politics on the issue of ‘Khatiyan’-based recruitment, has made it further difficult for Chaudhary as the contest has become triangular.
According a BJP worker in Giridih, Chaudhary has ignored BJP workers right from the day one after being elected from the seat and never cared to appoint any BJP member as its representative in the constituency.
“As soon as his name was declared for Giridih seat, he started contacting the local BJP workers seeking support from them though he never cared to hold a single meeting with us during these five years,” a local BJP worker said, requesting anonymity. “In such a situation, how he could expect BJP workers to support him,” he added.
Another BJP worker, however, said Chaudhary has admitted his mistake and promised to take care of them if he is elected for the second time. Locals, however, believe that despite all opposition, Chaudhry has fair chances of winning from the seat as a triangular may benefit the NDA candidate. All the three candidates belong to ‘Kurmi’ community which has so far been a deciding factor on the seat. But this time the Kurmi vote bank is set to be split into three parts, so voters of other community may play a key role to decide the fate of these candidates.
“After Jairam Mahto filed his nomination from Giridih, Kurmi voters of JMM are said to have shifted towards him making it difficult for the JMM as only Muslim and Yadav voters will remain with the party,” said Sikandar Hembrom, a local. “There is resentment against JMM due to non-performance of the alliance government in Jharkhand,” he said, adding that if Muslim voters shift towards Jairam, he may sail through.
There are about 3.5 lakh Kurmi voters in Giridih, with around 3 lakh Muslim voters. At the same time, there are 3.5 lakh SC and tribal voters while voters of general category counts around 2 lakh besides 2 lakh other voters.
NDA candidate Choudhary is confident of getting votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while Mathura Mahato of INDIA bloc will try to capitalise on sympathy over the arrest of former CM Hemant Soren. Jairam is trying to mobilise young voters on the issue of locality and Khatian.
Giridih LS constituency includes Giridih, Dumri, Gomia, Bermo, Tundi and Baghmara assembly segments. Gomia and Baghmara have NDA MLAs while Giridih, Dumri, Bermo and Tundi are being represented by INDIA bloc MLAs.
The constituency has 1,801,845 voters, including 93,5046 men and 86,6782 women. The number of transgenders is 17. As many as 34,896 first-time voters were added this year.