RANCHI: Confused voters and the party workers are making it difficult for former Chief Minister Champai Soren who is contesting from Saraikela Assembly seat this time. People are confused as the two prominent candidates — Champai Soren and Ganesh Mahli, who contested against each other on JMM and BJP tickets in 2019 Assembly polls, have exchanged sides and are against each other once again under different party symbols. According to locals, they are in contact with both the candidates and promising to vote for them, but are actually confused whom to support as they have been supporting Champai Soren since years but he has shifted to BJP, while Mahli belongs to the party they have been voting for years. Notably, after Jharkhand was formed in the year 2000, BJP has never won from Saraikela Assembly seat, but the party has managed to maintain number two position here and has always gave a close fight to the JMM. In the 2014 assembly elections, BJP fielded Ganesh Mahli against Champai Soren, who contested on JMM ticket; Champai got 1.1 lakh votes, while Ganesh Mahali got 95,887 votes, making Mahli lose the elections just 1,115 votes.But, the situation has changed this time after Champai joined BJP ahead of Assembly polls and Mahli was denied ticket from the party and hence he joined JMM to secure a ticket for himself.“Even after changing sides, both are in contact with their old cadres seeking votes from them, which has confused them; one of them is their favourite leader, but he has changed his party, while the other one is no so popular but he is in their favourite party,” said a local in Saraikela Kartik Mahto. Party workers on both sides are also confused, he said.
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