E-Paper
Anti-incumbency in J'khand
A strong under-current of anti-incumbency both at the Centre and Jharkhand led to the BJP's near rout with only former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi emerging victorious for the party from Koderma.
A strong under-current of anti-incumbency both at the Centre and Jharkhand led to the BJP's near rout with only former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi emerging victor for the party from Koderma.
The stunning performance of the Congress led alliance was also due to its tie-up with the JMM, the RJD and the Left parties which dislodged the BJP from all the eleven constituencies it had held in the previous Lok Sabha.
The issues raised by the Opposition like unemployment, migration, anti-farmer policies and appeal to the people to standby secular forces, has paid rich dividends, according to Opposition leader in the Assembly Stephen Marandi of the JMM.
Notable among the losers are External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, who held Hazaribag seat twice in 1998 and 1999, Union Conventional Energy Minister Kadia Munda who held the seat for the last five times and Minister of State for Social Justice Nagmani who was elected last time, albeit on RJD ticket.
Sinha said the voters did not consider development policies of the NDA governments both in the state and at the Centre.
''I have got only 61 votes in an area where I launched a four-lane road worth Rs 1.5 lakh... I find no reason working for the constituency as people give no value to my work,'' Sinha told reporters, expressing surprise over the people's rejection for his contribution for the constituency.
While Sinha lost to CPI's Bhubaneswar Mehta, Munda surrendered his seat to long time rival and Congress' candidate Sushila Kerketa. Nagmani was not among the top two in Chatra where RJD's Dhirendra Agarwal topped the tally.
The BJP also lost Godda, Giridih and Jamshedpur parliamentary seats which it had held since 1996 while it lost Palamu, Dhanbad and Ranchi which the party held since 1991.
Pradeep Yadav lost the Godda seat to Furkan Ansari of Congress while Ravindra Pandey was defeated by JMM's Teklal Mahto from Giridih and Abha Mahto lost to JMM's Sunil Mahto.
In Palamu, Brajmohan Ram bit the dust, losing to RJD's Manoj Kumar who is a legislator in the Jharkhand assembly.
Former Union Minister Rita Verma was humiliated by veteran Congress man Chandra Sekhar Dubey from the Dhanbad seat while Ram Tahal Choudhury lost to Congress candidate and former union minister Subodh Kant Sahay.
Congress wrested the Singhbhum constituency when deputy speaker Bagun Sumbrai defeated sitting member Laxman Gilua and in Lohardaga the Congress' candidate and former IPS officer Rameshwar Oraon has established an unassailable lead over Dukha Bhagat of the BJP.
The Congress, however, lost Koderma when Marandi defeated JMM's Champa Verma by over a lakh vote. The JMM got the seat under a pre-poll understanding with the Congress.
