Campaign for 3 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand ends, Shibu Soren in fray from Dumka again

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Campaigning for three Lok Sabha seats of Jharkhand going to polls on May 19 in the final phase of the general election ended at 4 pm on Friday.

The foremost among the candidates whose fate will be decided is 8-term sitting MP and former chief minister Shibu Soren of the JMM who is in the fray from Dumka once again.

Altogether 45,64,681 electors, including 22,00,119 female and 21 third gender voters are eligible to exercise their franchise, an Election Commission release said.

Besides Dumka and Rajmahal seats, which are reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates, polling will be held in Godda.

While 15 candidates are in the fray in Dumka, 14 are trying their luck from Rajmahal and 13 in Godda.

Shibu Soren, the JMM president, is crossing swords with BJP's Sunil Soren in Dumka. The JMM leader had defeated his BJP challenger twice in 2009 and 2014.

Sitting BJP MP Nishikant Dubey is taking on Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) MLA Pradip Yadav, who is backed by the 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance), in Godda. The JMM and the Congress are the "Mahagathbandhan" constituents in Jharkhand.

JMM's sitting MLA Vijay Kumar Hansda is facing BJP's Hemlal Murmu in Rajmahal. Murmu, a former minister, had quit the JMM and joined the BJP in 2014.

The EC release said a total of 6,258 polling stations have been set up.