Jharkhand Assembly Election, Mandu profile: Family members turn rivals as seat sees triangular contest

Mandu Assembly Election 2019 |  The constituency of Mandu, located in the Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand, will go the polls in the third phase of the Jharkhand Assembly Election on 12 December.

In Mandu Assembly constituency, three of a family, two brothers and their cousin, have entered the fray on rival party tickets. Mandu is seen as a triangular contest, with sons of former Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA Teklal Mahto — Jai Prakash Bhai Patel and Ram Prakash Bhai Patel — standing against each other on BJP and JMM tickets. In the 2014 polls, Jai Prakash won the seat on a JMM seat.

However, that was before he switched to the BJP, prompting the JMM to field his elder brother Ram Prakash against him this time. Furthermore, their cousin Chandra Nath Bhai Patel will take on the siblings on a Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) ticket.

Terming the candidature of his kin against him as a conspiracy by rival forces, Jai Prakash said that while everyone reserves the right to contest polls, the one who the people think is the most competent of all will win. “It hardly makes any difference who is standing against me. Let people decide the winner,” Jai Prakash said.

Following is a brief description of the Assembly constituency: 

Constituency number: 24

Total population:  3,86,229

Males: 2,03,745

Females: 1,82,483

Third gender: 1

Polling stations: 403

Voter turnout in last Assembly Election: 64 percent

Major parties in the fray: BJP, JMM, JVMP are major the major parties active in this seat

Results in last three years: The Mandu Assembly Constituency state is currently held by Jai Prakash Bhai Patel of JMM. In the 2014 Assembly Elections, he beat Kumar Mahesh Singh of BJP. Jai Prakash Bhai Patel got 34.38 percent of the votes. In 2009, Congress' candidate Saurabh Narain Singh won this seat with 45.18 percent of votes.

In 2019, Mandu is seeing a triangular contest, with sons of former Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA Teklal Mahto — Jai Prakash Bhai Patel and Ram Prakash Bhai Patel — standing against each other on BJP and JMM tickets. Furthermore, their cousin Chandra Nath Bhai Patel will take on the siblings on a Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) ticket.

December 11, 2019 at 10:59PM