Jharkhand Exit polls: Here are the key constituencies in the BJP-JMM poll battle

Ahead of the State Assembly poll results in Jharkhand on Monday, the Republic Republic Jan Ki Baat Exit Polls have predicted the BJP failing to cross the halfway mark in the 81-seat Assembly. The Congress-JMM-RJD (UPA) alliance is predicted to have an edge over the incumbent BJP government. The incumbent BJP is facing a tough fight in the following key constituencies - Jamshedpur East, Chakradharpur, Litipara,  Baghmara, and Jharia.

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Here are the key constituencies:

Jamshedpur East: The most contentious seat held by CM Raghubar Das is being challenged by BJP rebel and former minister Saryu Rai, who is contesting as an independent candidate. Congress has fielded party spokesperson Gaurav Vallabh from the constituency. Das, who is eyeing his 6th consecutive win faces a tough challenge from his own former cabinet minister. Rai was instrumental in exposing former Bihar CM Lalu Yadav in the fodder scam and exposed the multi-crore  Iron Ore Mines allotment scam under former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda. This constituency has been held by Raghubar Das since 1995.

Chakradharpur: The constituency which is reserved for Scheduled tribes is a mineral-rich constituency. BJP state president Laxman Gilua who lost the Lok Sabha polls in May 2019 inspite of the larger mandate the BJP won, faces a tough battle against JMM incumbent  Shashihbushan Samad and AJSU in the fray. Moreover, Gilua is unpopular as he tried to amend the Chhotanagpur and Santhal Pargana tenancy Acts and is against the Pathalgadi issue.

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Litipara: A JMM bastion in the Santhal Pargana region witnessed a poll battle between incumbent JMM MLA Simon Marandi's son Dinesh William and BJP's Daniyal Kisku. JMM is projected to retain this seat as the party has registered three consecutive wins in 2005, 2009 and 2014. The seat which falls under the Pakur district is home to the Santhal and Paharia tribes - making JMM the automatic favourite.

Baghmara: Incumbent BJP MLA Dulu Mahto is the favoured candidate inspite of being convicted by a local court and sentenced to 18 months of jail for helping a person in fleeing from jail. He faces Congress' Jaleshwar Mahato who had won the constituency on a JD(U) ticket. Dulu Mahto has held the unreserved seat since 2009.

Jharia: The seat is witness to a bloody family feud between Ragini Singh, wife of incumbent MLA Sanjeev Singh and her sister-in-law Purnima Singh. The incumbent MLA Sanjeev Singh is being tried for killing his political rival and cousin Niraj Singh. Niraj's widow Purnima has been nominated on a Congress ticket for the constituency which has a history of gun violence. The political battlefield seat is a BJP bastion and has been held by the saffron party since 2004.

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Jharkhand Exit poll predictions:

The UPA is projected to win 37-46 seats defeating the BJP which is projected to win only 22-30 seats. Meanwhile, AJSU is projected to win 3-5 seats, JVM is projected to win 3-4 seats. Other parties including  LJP, AJSU, JVM, CPI(M) are set to win 5-7 seats. 

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