Jharkhand's former top cop V D Ram
In the Naxal-hit Palamau Lok Sabha constituency, a former law-enforcer is pitted against a law-breaker whose name spread terror in the region till the time he was arrested by the police.
Kameshwar Baitha, a front-ranking Maoist commander of his time, had won the seat in 2009 as a candidate of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, or the JMM, without campaigning for a day. Wanted by the police for at least 17 cases of murder and several other offences, Baitha was arrested in 2005, and had been languishing in jail since then. He was granted bail in 2011.
Baitha is back in the fray, but as a nominee of the Trinamool Congress. He flirted with the BJP for a while, but after failing to get a positive response from the party for his bid to seek a re-election from Palamau, he joined West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's party, which has minimal presence in the state.
"What do you mean cases ? I am facing cases because I tried to get justice for the poor and the down-trodden. What about those who indulge in corruption?" he told NDTV when asked about the string of cases pending against him.
Standing in his way is Jharkhand's former top cop V D Ram, who has been fielded by the BJP from this reserved constituency. He is said to be the inspiration behind the Prakash Jha-directed 'Gangajal.' The 1973-batch IPS official, who went on to become the state's Director General of Police (DGP), retired in 2011, and joined the BJP two years later.
Manoj Bhuyan, a former RJD MP who was expelled from his party in 2007 following the termination of his membership of the House for his involvement in the cash-for-questions scam, is also in the race. He has been fielded again by his old party, the RJD.