Campaign for Jharkhand by-election ends

The campaign for the by-election in Jharkhand's Tamar constituency, from where Chief Minister Shibu Soren is seeking election, ended on Saturday.

The campaign for the by-election in Jharkhand's Tamar constituency, from where Chief Minister Shibu Soren is seeking election, ended on Saturday.

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There are 15 candidates for Monday's election. Soren's key rivals are Basundhara Munda of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and Raja Peter of Jharkhand Party.

Soren has to get elected to the state assembly before Feb 27. He became chief minister on Aug 27 and he needs to become a legislator within six months.

The by-election was necessitated after JD-U legislator Ramesh Singh Munda was killed by Maoist rebels in July. His widow Basundhara Munda, the JD-U candidate, is confident of winning the election thanks to a sympathy wave.

Not taking chances, Soren visited Tamar almost every day after filing his nomination last month. He promised to develop the area within a year.

The Election Commission has made heavy security arrangements to ensure violence-free polling.