Koda shadow may eclipse Cong-JVM in Singhbhum

Scam-tainted former chief minister Madhu Koda may turn out to be a spoilsport for the Congress and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha JVM in the prestigious East Singhbhum district,giving the upper hand to the BJP....

Scam-tainted former chief minister Madhu Koda may turn out to be a spoilsport for the Congress and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha JVM in the prestigious East Singhbhum district,giving the upper hand to the BJP.

This district,adjoining Chaibasa,the hometown of Koda,has traditionally been a battleground of the BJP and JMM due to the polarised electorate,with the upper castes,business community and OBCs backing the former and the Dalits and Adivasis supporting the latter.

Among the six constituencies of the district,three East Jamshedpur,West Jamshedpur and Jugsalai are represented by heavyweights: former minister Raghubar Das BJP,Sarayu Rai BJP and former minister Dulal Bhuiyan JMM respectively. In these seats,the candidates which the Congress and JVM,led by former chief minister Babulal Marandi,have put up are: Abhay Singh JVM,Banna Gupta Congress and Ritika Mukhi Congress.

What goes against the Congress-JVM alliance here is a combination of two factors: one,the Congress and RJD had backed the Koda government during 2006-08; two,the allotment of tickets by them to defectors Singh,who was earlier with the RJD,and Gupta,a former Samajwadi Party leader.

Since Koda has been booked in a Rs 4,000-crore case following nationwide raids on his properties,corruption has become a central plank in this election with a perception gaining ground that if Koda has looted the public funds with impunity,it was courtesy the Congress,JMM and the RJD.

Besides,Hidayatullah Khan,a history sheeter,who had quit the LJP to join the Congress only to be denied ticket by it,is at daggers drawn with the partys West Jamshedpur nominee Gupta. Similar is the case with JVMs candidate Singh,who is being opposed by the partys workers led by its secretary Ashok Singh.

In Jugsalai,JMMs Dulal Bhuiyan is being challenged by two women candidates the Congresss Ritika Mukhi and the BJPs Rakhi Rai,who had recently joined the party after quitting All Jharkhand Students Union.