Counting of votes in Jharkhand tomorrow

Counting of votes for the 81-member Jharkhand assembly will be taken up on Wednesday to decide the fate of 1,489 candidates who contested the five phase elections from November 25 to December 18.

Central paramilitary forces will be deployed in all counting centres, officials said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal-United, Congress-Jharkhand Vikash Morcha (Prajantrik) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Lok Janashakti Party, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India-Marxist and Maoist Coordination Committee are the three main alliances.

Of the 1489 candidates, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, which has no alliance, put up the maximum number of 79 candidates.

The Bahujan Samaj Party contested 78 seats, BJP 67, Congress 61, Rashtriya Janata Dal 54, AJSU 54, Trinamool Congress 37 and CPI-Marxist Leninist-Liberation 33.

The Congress in alliance with former chief minister Babulal Marandi's Jharkhand Vikash Morcha (Prajatantrik) contested all seats and had friendly contest in five.

Marandi was in the BJP during the 2005 assembly election, but parted ways with the saffron party and floated his own party the JVM-P in 2006.

Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee chief Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu is seeking re-election from Ghatshila, senior party leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Stephen Marandi from Dumka.

Another senior Congress leader and Assembly Speaker Alamgir Alam fought from Pakur. JMM chief Shibu Soren has reportedly indicated that he was ready to form an alliance with any party or front after the results as 'nobody was untouchable in politics.'

In February 2005 assembly election the JMM had won 17 seats and its then alliance partner Congress nine.

The main JMM candidates are former deputy chief minister Sudhir Mahato(Ichagarh), Hemant Soren (Dumka), Sita Soren wife of late Durga Soren, the elder son of Shibu Soren (Jama), and Suraj Mandal (Poreyahat).

AJSU chief and former Jharkhand home minister Sudesh Mahto is seeking re-election from Silli. The AJSU contested on its own from 54 seats.

The BJP in alliance with the JD-U contested all 81 seats. The BJP contested in 67 seats and alliance partner JD-U in 14.

In February 2005 assembly election the BJP had won 30 seats and JD-U six, but at the time of the dissolution of the House the BJP had 21 and JD-U 3 members respectively.

The BJP's strength had decreased because of disqualifications and resignations. BJP Jharkhand unit chief Rajhuvar Das contested from Jamshedpur-East and party heavy weight Ravindra Rai from Dhanwar.

Important RJD leaders who contested the elections were Girinath Singh from Garhwa and Annapurna Devi (Koderma). Geeta Koda, wife of former chief minister Madhu Koda allegedly involved in the Rs 2000 crore money laundering scam contested from the Jagannathpur seat.

Three former ministers now in judicial custody in a disproportionate assets case - Kamlesh Singh of NCP contested the Hussainabad seat, Enosh Ekka of Jharkhand Party (Ekka) from Simdega and Kolibera and Harinarayan Ray (Independent) from Jarmundi.

Other prominent candidates were Aparna Sengupta (All India Forward Bloc) seeking re-election from Nirsa, Joba Majhi (United Goans Democratic Party) from Manoharpur, Bandhu Tirkey (Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch) from Mandar and Bishnupur.

The RJD, Ramvilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party, CPI, CPI-M and Maoist Coordination Committee MCC are fighting the election in alliance.

The RJD had won seven seats in the 2005 assembly election. The LJP and CPI-M still do not have any members in the assembly after Jharkhand was created.

The CPI and MCC had one MLA each in the last assembly. Among other parties Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is fighting on 37 seats, the CPI (ML-Liberation) 33 seats, Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party 19 seats, United Goans Democratic Party 13 seats, All India Forward Bloc 11 seats, RSP eight seats and the Shiv Sena five seats.