BJP Confident of Returning to Power as Jharkhand Political Parties Welcome Election Announcement

Ranchi: Ruling BJP and other political parties on Friday welcomed the five-phase elections to the 81 seats for Jharkhand Assembly from November 30.

Main opposition JMM as well other parties, including Congress, AJSU and JD(U), also greeted the announcement of election dates.

The poll-panel announced during the day that Jharkhand assembly polls will be held in five phases between November 30 and December 20, and the counting of votes will take place on December 23.

Voting will take place on November 30, December 7, 12, 16 and 20.

Soon after announcement of the poll schedule, instructions were issued to withdraw photos of Chief Minister Raghubar Das on the government website.

With the Chief Election Commissioner, Sunil Arora, saying Model Code of Conduct will come into force soon after the announcement of the poll schedule, a government communiqu instructed to pull out photos of the chief minister and other pictures pertaining to the government from official calendars, government website and all such displays.

"In view of the 2019 assembly elections, all officials should ensure complying with Model Code of Conduct seriously," it said.

BJPs state unit General Secretary Dipak Prakash said "the announcement of five-phase elections for the Jharkhand assembly deserves welcome. This decision will enable fair and fearless elections."

Saying that the 2014 assembly elections had also completed in five phases, Prakash said the BJP also urged the ECI to hold elections in five phases, keeping the sentiments of the people.

"Law and order situation in the state is better and Naxalism has been reined in. Still, the ECI has taken care and necessary decision (to hold the polls in five phases) was taken to hold elections peacefully," he said.

"The party has established new milestones, so it is fully confident that the people will once again vote for the NDA under the leadership of Chief Minister Raghubar Das," he said.

"The party will also, cross its goal to win 65-plus seats," he claimed.

BJPs spokesman Pratul Shah Deo said that the BJP would contest the elections in alliance with the AJSU party, but said seat-sharing between the two ruling allies would be announced later.

The BJP has 43 seats in the current House while its ally has three seats after the resignation of its leader Chandraprakash Choudhary following his election to the Lok

Sabah earlier this year.

Hours after declaration of election dates, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) said it would contest in alliance with opposition parties.

We will contest in alliance with the opposition parties, JMM General Secretary and spokesman Suprio Bhattacharya told PTI.

The JMM, Congress, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) and Rashtriya Janata Dal had fought the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state in alliance. The JMM and the Congress had won one seat each.

Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman Lal Kishore Nath Shahdeo said though we welcome the five-phase elections to the 2019 assembly elections from November 30, the party had urged the team of the Election Commission of India (ECI) for a single phase elections during its recent meeting with political leaders here.

Ruling NDA ally, the AJSU welcomed the assembly elections declaration for the 81 seats in Jharkhand.

AJSU Party president and former deputy chief minister Sudesh Mahto said, "The party is prepared to face the elections with a new concept."

The Janata Dal (United) also appreciated the polls announcement, but said it had asked the ECI to complete the voting exercise in two or three phases.

"We welcome the five-phase elections though we had requested the team sent by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to complete the voting exercise in two or three phases. Yet, we are prepared to contest in all the 81 seats, party's Jharkhand unit General Secretary-cum-spokesman Shravan Kumar told PTI.

He said the party would announce its first list of candidates and poll manifesto soon after a meeting on November 7 in which party in-charge and Bihar Social Welfare Minister-Ramsevak Singh and co-in-charge Arun Kumar- would be present.

Meanwhile, the ruling BJP expressed confidence that it will win more than 65 seats in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly, asserting that incumbent Chief Minister Raghubar Das will be the face of the party in the upcoming polls in the state.

The party's in-charge for the Jharkhand Assembly polls, OP Mathur, said the BJP will return to power on the basis of its state government's performance and on the popular appeal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Asked about the party falling short of its target in the recent Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly polls, Mathur said every state election was different and so were the factors influencing voters.

"Our leadership has set a target of winning more than 65 seats. I am confident that we will achieve it.... Raghubar Das will be the party's face for the post of chief minister," he said.

The party cadre will also work to boost the voting percentage during the Jharkhand polls, which will be conducted in five phases between November 30 and December 20, Mathur said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won 37 seats in the 2014 Jharkhand polls and got past the majority mark in the Assembly as a number of MLAs from other parties joined it.