Ranchi: In Jharkhand, parties like BSP and SP could benefit from leaders disappointed by the two major alliances formed for the upcoming 2024 Assembly elections. Due to the alliances, many leaders who missed out on seats or nominations in their original parties are now contesting the elections under the banners of these parties. Some leaders, even after their seats were secured in alliances, did not receive tickets and chose to run as rebels with the symbols of parties like BSP and SP.
Kushwaha Shivpujan Mehta, former MLA from Hussainabad, had been preparing for elections with AJSU for five years, expecting this seat to go to AJSU in the NDA alliance. However, just before the elections were announced, current Hussainabad MLA Kamlesh Singh, Mehta’s main rival, joined BJP, and the seat went to BJP instead. In the INDIA alliance, this seat went to RJD, leaving Mehta with no option but to return to BSP. Recently, former MLA Aqeel Akhtar left AJSU and tried to secure a ticket from JMM or Congress. When this didn’t work out, he joined the Samajwadi Party two days before the end of the nomination period, declaring his candidacy under its symbol. Aqeel Akhtar had contested from AJSU in 2019 when the Pakur seat went to Congress under the alliance, but he was unsuccessful.
Similarly, sitting MLA Uma Shankar Akela did not receive a Congress ticket for the current elections, leading him to enter the race on an SP ticket. Due to the alliances, he did not have the option to join BJP, AJSU, JMM, or RJD. An exception to this trend was former minister Umakant Rajak, who, after not receiving a ticket, joined JMM, which then fielded him as a candidate. Rajak was a prominent AJSU leader, but with the Chandankiyari seat going to BJP under the NDA alliance, he left the party.
In the past, candidates from BSP and NCP have won elections in Jharkhand. Shivpujan Mehta previously won from Hussainabad on a BSP ticket, though he lost in 2019 when he contested with AJSU. Former minister Kamlesh Singh also won from Hussainabad in 2019 on an NCP ticket; this time, he is contesting the same seat as a BJP candidate.
