Left parties, although not a part of the UPA government in Jharkhand, have decided to support the JMM candidate, cabinet minister Hafizul

Hassan, for the Madhupur byelection scheduled on April 17.

In a joint press statement issued in Ranchi, four Left parties _ CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML) and Marxist Coordination Committee _ announced their support to the JMM-UPA candidate in the bypoll.

“We had extended our support to UPA candidates during the Bermo and Dumka bypolls against the BJP. Now, we have decided to do the same for the Madhupur bypoll too. This is to show our opposition to the BJP government which has been taking anti-people decisions since the last few years, visible in the new farm laws, privatisation of national assets, dismal employment opportunities. We would campaign against the BJP candidate and support the JMM candidate,” said Prakash Viplav after a meeting of all Left parties at the state CPM office in Ranchi.

Though Left parties have never made an impact in any Assembly election at Madhupur, they do have followers among factory workers in few pockets of the constituency, especially after recent agitations against the new farm laws and privatisation of banks.

Meanwhile, both UPA and BJP have stepped up campaigning. State minority welfare minister Hafijul Hassan, son of the deceased minister Haji Hussain Ansari, is pitted against Ganga Narayan Singh, who joined BJP from Ajsu on March 22 and was announced as a candidate a few days before filing his nomination on March 30, the last date.

While BJP party leader and former chief minister Babulal Marandi, Deoghar MP Nishikant Dubey and a host of senior BJP leaders are campaigning for their party candidate, ruling alliance leaders, including Congress minister Badal Patralekh, chief minister Hemant Soren and RJD leaders, have been campaigning for Hafijul Hassan.

Byelection is being held as the sitting Madhupur MLA, Haji Hussain Ansari, died due to Covid-19 related complications in October last year.

In the 2019 assembly polls, the voting percentage of BJP (28.34) and Ajsu (19.88), if considered together (48.22) works out to be higher than the JMM's (38.4). This has made BJP field Ajsu turncoat, relying on traditional voters and the Ajsu support base to defeat the ruling alliance candidate.

“I am confident of victory in the bypoll as the party has fielded a son of Madhupur for the first time in the last two-decades. I have worked tirelessly for the people of the region and my priority would remain to work for the people in any capacity. This time, I will be getting traditional BJP voters and my own supporters who helped me finish third in the 2019 assembly polls,” said Ganga Narayan Ray, alias Ganga Narayan Singh.

However, state BJP vice-president Raj Paliwar, who was eyeing a ticket and had been the party candidate for the last few elections, even winning in the 2014 elections, wasn't even invited on the day Ganga Narayan filed his nomination.

"Raj Paliwar is the face of BJP for the last two decades and holds considerable clout among party rank and file. But he has been badly insulted by our party this time. He is maintaining silence and this can prove to be a disadvantage for the BJP candidate," said a Madhupur block BJP leader, indicaing that all is not well in the party.