Marandi to battle it out with CPI, JMM on Monday

Marandi to battle it out with CPI, JMM on Monday
Manoj Prasad

RAMGARH, FEB 17: A large voter turnout is expected in Monday's Assembly poll in the Ramgarh constituency in Jharkhand. The fight will primarily be amongst the CPI's Najma Quereshi, the JMM's Arjun Ram and the BJP's Babulal Marandi in the Assembly poll on Monday.

There are 1.97 lakh voters in the constituency. Of the seven candidateswho are in the fray, Quereshi, Ram and Marandi are popular among theelectorates. The others, including the Congress's Yamuna Sharma, are more likely to lose.

Though the constituency has seen campaigning by stalwarts like the CPI secretary A.B. Bardhan, JMM president Shibu Soren, Congress leader and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, Union Telecommunications Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and the Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, there has been the absence of a `wave' in favour of any party or its candidate.

Although there was no poll alliance, the CPI-M, CPI-ML, Marxist CoordinationCommittee, RJD and the Jharkhand Vikas Party didn't field their own candidates and their leaders jointly campaigned for the CPI candidate. So did the leaders of the BJP's allies from the Samata party, JD (U) and the All Jharkhand Students' Union, in favour of Marandi.

The JMM is believed to play the role of a votekatwa (vote cutter) for Quereshi, thereby ensuring victory for Marandi. But given the tough scenario, there is a remote possibility of the JMM supporters voting in favour of Quereshi. And that could spell doom for Marandi.

The poll boycott announced by the Naxalite outfit of Maoist Communist Centre -- which holds sway in less than half a dozen villages in Gola block -- is theproblem all three main candidates are facing. If the boycott is successful, which is least likely, it may adversely affect the prospects ofboth Quereshi and Ram, who hold influence in this area, benefitting Marandi who has emerged a favourite among the urban electorate in Ramgarh.

Meanwhile, preparation are reportedly complete in 261 booths. A record number of 16 companies of para military forces of the Central IndustrialSecurity Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Rapid Action Force and the Jharkhand Military Force have been deployed here.