Lok Sabha Election 2019 Phase 7: Jharkhand to vote today for 3 seats; JMM, BJP candidates in fray

In the last phase of 2019 Lok Sabha election, Jharkhand's Rajmahal, Godda and Dhumka parliamentary constituencies are going to poll today. Rajmahal and Dhumka constituencies are the two reserved constituencies in this phase while Godda is a general category constituency. The state has total 14 Lok Sabha seats.

A total of 4,315 polling booths have been set up for Phase 7 polls in Jharkhand. There are a total of 45.64 lakh voters in this phase of poll, out of which 23.64 lakh are male voters, 22 lakh female electors and 21 third gender voters.

List of constituencies participating in the seventh phase of LS Polls in Jharkhand: Rajmahal, Dumka and Godda.

Rajmahal: Rajmahal Lok Sabha constituency covers the entire Sahebganj and Pakur districts. The constituency is reserved for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Tribes. There are total 14 candidates in fray from Rajmahal. Gopin Soren of Communist Party of India (Marxist), Baidhnath Pahadiya of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Monika Kisku of All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) , Vijay Kumar Hansdak of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Hemlal Murmu of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are a few prominent candidates contesting  from Rajmahal Lok Sabha Constituency in this general election. Apart from these, there are six independent candidates and four from other regional parties.

The Rajmahal is currently held by Vijay Kumar Hansdak of JMM. In the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, Vijay Kumar Hansdak defeated Hemlal Murmu of BJP by receiving 39.90 per cent of the votes cast in this constituency.

Rajmahal has seen a triangular fight most of the time. The Congress party has won eight times from here, JMM, four times, BJP two times and BLD and Janata Party once each.

Rajmahal constituency covers six assembly segments - Rajmahal, Borio, Barhait, Litipara, Pakaur and Maheshpur. The region is famously known for its supply of the best-quality Black Stone across the country.

Dhumka: The Dhumka constituency is reserved for candidates belonging to Scheduled Tribes (ST). The Dhumka constituency has been the JMM's stronghold since 1980. JMM's Sibhu Soren has won from this Lok Sabha seat eight times and lost thrice. Babulal Marandi of the BJP has won from the seat twice and Prithvi Chandra Kisku of Congress once.

This time, there are total sixteen candidates in fray from Dhumka Lok Sabha seat, including nine independent candidates. Sunil Soren from BJP, Sibhu Soren from JMM, Arjun Pujahar from AITMC, Stephan Besra from BSP, Senapati from Murmur and Satish Soren from Jharkhand People's Party are the prominent candidates contesting from Dhumka.

The Dumka constituency is spread across Dumka, Deoghar and Jamtara districts and has assembly segments of Skiaripara, Nala, Jamtara, Sarath, Dumka and Jama under it.

Godda: The Godda constituency is an unreserved constituency. The constituency covers Godda district and parts of Deoghar and Dumka districts. Godda constituency covers six assembly segments - Madhupur, Deoghar, Jarmundi, Poreyahat, Godda and Mahagama.

The constituency is known to be a strong hold of BJP. Godda has been won by the BJP since 1996. Only in 2004, Congress Furkan Ansari won from this seat. Godda is currently held by BJP's Nishikant Dubey. This time there are total 13 candidates in fray. The key candidates fighting from Godda Lok Sabha seat are--Nishikant Dubey from BJP, Zaffar Obaid (BSP), Pradeep Yadav from Jharkhand Vikas Morcha, Murari Kapri from Aam Adhikar Morcha and Noor Hasan from Rashtriya Samata Party. There  are six independent candidates as well that are contesting from Godda.

Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2019: Poll dates, full schedule, voting phase7 FAQs, election results, constituencies' detail

Also Read: General Election Polling 2019: How to vote, get polling booth details without voter ID card