Professor of finance at XLRI and Congress candidate from Jamshedpur East Gourav Vallabh, 42, is calculating his poll chances.

Newbie Vallabh is pitted against chief minister Raghubar Das, who as a BJP leader has never lost the election from Jamshedpur East.

Vallabh is also up against BJP rebel Saryu Roy, who after being denied the party ticket is fighting the CM on his turf as an Independent.

Vallabh, a certified financial risk manager from Global Association of Risk Professionals in the US, knows the risks. But the professor refuses to admit that it’s only a contest between Das and Roy.

“I am more than 100 per cent confident of my victory. People want someone genuine to solve civic problems plaguing the constituency for years,” he said while campaigning in Bagunhatu in Sidhgora on Monday.

A national spokesperson of the Congress, Vallabh shot to fame after he schooled BJP leader Sambit Patra — during a TV debate — on the number of zeros in a trillion.

He can teach a thing or two to many people, going by the number of degrees he has.

Vallabh is a chartered accountant and a company secretary. He also has a PhD, an LLB and MCom under his belt.

He is canny enough to have gotten on the poll bandwagon of slum-dweller land rights and the closure of Incab.

“I decided to contest from Jamshedpur East as I know very well as a resident of the steel city for close to two decades (he has been with the XLRI for 18 years) how urban slum dwellers have been fooled by their elected representative on the issue of land ownership rights. I want to stop this cheating,” he said.

He added: “I am also focusing on the inability of the local MLA and CM in opening Incab. It is a shame that during his tenure many industries in his constituency either closed or shifted base.”

Vallabh claimed he had a lot of support on social media.