Former chief ministers Soren and Marandi face off in Jharkhand polls

Dumka: The 2014 Lok Sabha polls will be an acid test for regional parties and former chief ministers of Jharkhand.

The state has had nine chief ministers in the 11 years of its existence.

The presidents of three regional parties -- the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) and the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) -- are all contesting.

JMM president Shibu Soren and JVM-P president Babulal Marandi are facing each other in the Dumka Lok Sabha seat. Both are former chief ministers.

Marandi was Jharkhand's first chief minister. He quit the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2006 and floated his own party.

Advertisement

Hemant Soren, who is the son of the JMM chief, has taken command of his father's campaign.

"People know who fought for the state and who brought recognition to the state," he said.

Advertisement

His father, a six-time winner from Dumka, told reporters, "I am fighting to serve the people of my constituency."

The JMM, however, is facing internal conflicts.

Advertisement

Simon Marandi, a JMM leader and minister in the cabinet, has refused to campaign for Shibu Soren. He is unhappy as his son was not given a party ticket.

Babulal Marandi, on the other hand, is banking on his clean image and is trying to dent the JMM bastion. He has defeated Shibu Soren twice in 1998 and 1999 as a BJP candidate.

Advertisement

"The state needs development and the JVM-P is the only hope of the people of the state," he said.

AJSU president Sudesh Mahto, a former deputy chief minister, is fighting from Ranchi, which experts suggest is headed for a multi-corner fight.

Advertisement

Congress's sitting MP and former minister Subodh Kant Sahay, BJP's Ram Tahal Chaudhary, former IPS official and Jharkhand State Cricket Association president Amitabh Chaudhary and TMC legislator Bandhu Tirkey are in the poll fray for this seat.

Former chief minister Madhu Koda's wife Geeta Koda is fighting from Chaibasa.

Madhu Koda is the sitting MP from the same constituency, but he is not contesting due to growing pressure to opt out.

Political experts say Lok Sabha results in the state will be crucial for the three main regional parties and the two national parties. The assembly poll is also scheduled to be held in November-December this year.