SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Nov 4: With the election battle lines drawn across all six assembly constituencies in Dhanbad district, party rebels threaten to disrupt the chances of the NDA and INDI Alliance, especially on three seats: Tundi, Nirsa, and Baghmara. Assembly elections in Dhanbad are scheduled for the second phase on November 3.
Although there are 80 candidates from various national, regional, and independent parties contesting the elections, the main competition appears to be between NDA and INDI Alliance nominees in all six seats across the district.
Within the alliance framework, the BJP is contesting all six seats, while the INDI Alliance has allocated three to Congress, two to CPIML, and one to JMM.
JMM, BJP face new challenge in Tundi
The JMM has fielded its candidate only in the Tundi constituency, where sitting MLA Mathura Prasad Mahto seeks his fourth term, having previously won in 2005, 2009, and 2019. However, this time he faces a new challenge from Ajmul Ansari, running on a Samajwadi Party (SP) ticket, who may draw a share of the minority votes traditionally cast for the JMM.
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The JMM and the BJP are also contending with party dissidents. Deep Narayan Singh, a senior JDU leader, and Bani Devi, a local BJP block leader, are both running independently in Tundi, potentially diminishing support for the NDA’s (BJP) candidate, Vikash Kumar Mahto.
Bani Devi is contesting under the All-India Forward Bloc, while Deep Narayan Singh, a strong contender for Tundi, has entered as an independent candidate.
CPIML faces JMM rebel in Nirsa
In Nirsa, the CPIML, which secured two seats under the INDI Alliance in Dhanbad, faces strong competition from JMM rebel Ashok Mandal. Mandal, a senior JMM leader, is running on the ticket of the Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM), a party led by Jairam Mahto.
In the 2019 assembly election, Mandal, then a JMM candidate, finished third with 47,168 votes behind BJP’s Aparna Sengupta, who won with 89,082 votes, and Arup Chatterjee of the Marxist Coordination Committee, who received 63,624 votes. Local political analysts suggest that Mandal’s entry will likely split the INDI Alliance’s votes in Nirsa.
Congress faces internal challenge in Baghmara
In Baghmara, the Congress is also dealing with party rebels. Congress rebel Rohit Yadav is running as an independent candidate, which political observers say could complicate matters for Congress candidate Jaleshwar Mahto. Mahto narrowly lost the 2019 assembly election by just 824 votes to BJP’s Dhulu Mahto, who received 78,291 votes compared to Jaleswer Mahto’s 77,467.
With multiple party rebels in the fray, both the NDA and INDI Alliance could see their support base eroded in these key Dhanbad seats, potentially impacting their performance in the upcoming assembly elections.
