Campaign for Jamshedpur Lok Sabha bypoll ends

Jamshedpur, Aug 27 (UNI)The cacophony of campaign for the August 29 Jamshedpur Lok Sabha bypoll came to end at 1600 hours today.

Altogether 12 candidates are in the fray for this bypoll which was necessitated after the assassination of Jharkahnd Mukti Morcha MP Sunil Mahto by the Maoist rebels on March 4 at Baghuria village in East Singhbhum district.

The prominent among those contesting the by-election are UPA supported JMM candidate Suman Mahto, the widow of the slain MP, NDA-backed BJP candidate Dinesh Sarangi, a former state minister and the MLA from Bahargora Assembly constituency.

Besides, Babulal Marandi's Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Democratic) candidate Bikash Mukherjee,Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)candidate Salkhan Murmu, a former BJP MP who joined the party recently and Samajwadi Party candidate Aftab Ahmed Siddiqui are also notable cotestants.

Altogether 13,97,280 voters would cast their vote for this bypoll amidst the threat of boycotting the election by the naxalite outfit in the rural areas of the consituency.

The parties like the BJP and the JMM went for campaign with full swing.Both the BJP and the JMM concentrated on the rural areas in the first half of the campaigning while in the last one week the parties accelarated campaign in the urban areas of the constituency which consists of six Assembly segments.

Stalwarts like BJP's vice president Yashwant Sinha, star campaigner and actor turned politician Shatrughan Sinha,former Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda, state BJP chief P N Singh,former Jharkhand Assembly speaker and Independent MLA Inder Singh Namdhari, JD(U) state president Jaleshwar Mahto, senior leader Ramesh Singh Munda and other senior BJP leaders campaigned in favour of the NDA candidate.

The BJP had left no stone unturned to win this election as the party took the election as prestige issue.At present the party has no MP and the BJP camp with the support of the JD(U) wanted to win this seat.

Mr Sarangi had undertaken a door to door campaign in the rural areas.He focussed his campaign on his Assembly constituency and the Ghatshila area while the other party leaders concentrated on the rural areas.

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