Jharkhand Election 2024: Hemant, Prashant, Priyanka Set for Showdown in Electoral Battle
The first phase of assembly elections is kick-started in Jharkhand along with by-elections across 31 assembly seats in 11 states and the Wayanad parliamentary seat as the political scenario hots up. While Jharkhand will have Hemant Soren, Bihar will be represented by Prashant Kishor, while Kerala's Priyanka Gandhi will campaign in the respective regions and stake her claim.
Elections in Jharkhand - Hemant Soren's Big Test
With the voting for 43 assembly seats in Jharkhand set for a single phase, Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his Jharkhand Mukti Morcha are sitting on a knife-edge. The election, for the first time, will become more of Hemant Soren's show than that of Shibu Soren, the founder of JMM, who had been calling all the shots in the party's electoral strategy till date. This election marks a watershed point because Hemant is not only leading the campaign but also making key decisions over alliances and choices of candidates. His wife, Kalpana Soren, has also joined the fray and has been actively involved in campaign activities.
To Hemant Soren, the elections become much more than being a political fight-it is more about survival and credibility. Pressure mounted with Champai Soren and Lobin Hembrom quitting JMM to join BJP, and it has become a crucial issue-Hemant Soren leadership and the unity of the party.
Bihar By-election: The Political Debut of Prashant Kishor
Assembly seats in Bihar: Tarari, Ramgarh, Imamganj, and Belaganj Four go into by-elections broadly seen as a test before 2025 state elections. Critical for BJP-JDU alliance as much as RJD-led opposition, but this time there's one new entrant in the play: Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraj party.
For Prashant Kishor, an election strategist of experience now venturing into the political terrain, these by-elections are his first exercise in Bihar's political ring. Kishor has set up his party as an alternative to traditional caste-based politics, spread across equity representation, migration, and employment. He has said that his wins here would determine the tenor for Bihar's next assembly elections scheduled for 2025. As he enters into the political battleground with veterans like Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav, it is here where results may be scripted for his future in Bihar.
Wayanad By-Election: Priyanka Gandhi's Electoral Debut
A long-awaited entry into electoral politics Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is making in the Kerala constituency of Wayanad, testing her electoral mettle by campaigning for a seat that was vacated by her brother Rahul Gandhi. While Priyanka has been active in Congress's campaign efforts for several years, she hasn't contested elections so far. Now, with Wayanad as her launchpad, Priyanka's debut appears to focus on strengthening the influence of the party in the southern states.
The Congress party is making all efforts to ensure that Priyanka's entry goes in success. This may well become an election where she stands an excellent chance of consolidating her place within the party and establishing her power, politically speaking, in the region. And winning from here might provide the Congress workers with enough energy to boost their campaigns for the next elections.
The Stakes Across Three Regions
Each of these leaders will have a unique tale to share. Stakes are very high in these elections. For Hemant Soren, it is a battle for party supremacy and personal credibility. For Prashant Kishor, it will be of cementing his party as a strong alternative; and for Priyanka Gandhi, it will all boil down to beginning her electoral career on the right note with a thumping victory in Kerala.
The future of these leaders will be decided in these contests and which of them will be elected also will be an indication of the kind of political dynamics beginning to take place in India's diverse regions as the results of these elections start unfolding.
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