With the Election Commission announcing the poll dates for the 81-member Jharkhand assembly, the stage is set for a direct contest between the ruling JMM-led coalition and the NDA. With the current assembly’s term concluding in January, the stakes are high for both alliances.
The Assembly polls will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20 and counting will take place on November 23, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday.
The BJP-led NDA has already started campaigning to regain lost ground, deploying Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who have been raising the issues of “Bangladeshi infiltration” and “rampant corruption”.