Hemant Soren, Priyanka Gandh & Prashant Kishore, Jharkhand elections to Wayanad by-election, know what at stake for whom

Amid the noise of campaigning for the Jharkhand assembly elections, voting is being held for 43 assembly seats in the first phase. Along with the Jharkhand elections, by-elections are being held for 31 assembly seats in 11 states, from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh to Assam, including four assembly seats each in Bihar and Punjab.

Although by-election is also being held for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala. While Priyanka Gandhi is contesting from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat that feel vacant due to Rahul Gandhi resignation.

From the Jharkhand assembly elections to the Bihar, Punjab and Wayanad by-elections, what is at stake whom?

Along with 43 assembly seats in the first phase of Jharkhand elections, by-elections are also being held for 31 assembly seats and vacant parliamentary seats in 11 states. While Hemant Soren's credibility is at stake in the Jharkhand elections, PK's party is making its debut in the Bihar by-election. Priyanka Gandhi is making her electoral debut in the Wayanad by-election.

First election on Hemant's face

Since the formation of Jharkhand state, Shibu Soren has been the pivot of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) election strategy and campaign. This time in the election, for the first time, Hemant Soren is in charge of everything from the party's strategy to the campaign and decisions. Be it the question of candidature or alliance, Hemant Soren is seen on the deciding seat of JMM.

Along with Hemant, his wife Kalpana Soren is also seen quite active in the election campaign, who was known for maintaining distance from politics and public life.

Center point of JMM's election campaign

Though Hemant Soren has been the CM before as well, but this is the first time that he has become the center point of JMM's election campaign. This election has become a question of survival for Hemant amid Shibu Soren's distance from politics due to health reasons.

This election is also considered a question of existence for Hemant. This question has also become deeper because heavyweight leaders like Champai Soren and Lobin Hembram have already left Hemant and JMM before the elections and joined the opposition BJP.

Priyanka's electoral debut

Even though, Priyanka Gandhi has been in politics for a few years, but till now she was away from electoral politics. There was talk of Priyanka Gandhi contesting from Rae Bareli or Amethi seat in the Lok Sabha elections, but it did not happen. Priyanka Gandhi focused on the campaign instead of contesting the elections.

Also Read: Jharkhand Assembly Election: Voting continues for 43 seats in Jharkhand, 13.4% voting till 9 am

Now she is starting her electoral journey from the by-election for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat of Kerala in South India. Congress is making all efforts to make Priyanka Gandhi's electoral debut memorable with a big victory on the seat vacated by Rahul Gandhi's resignation

PK's first litmus test

By-elections are being held for four assembly seats in Bihar - Tarari, Ramgarh, Imamganj and Belaganj. These by-elections, being held before the 2025 Bihar elections, are being seen as a litmus test for political parties. In these by-elections, which are considered important for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) alliance as well as the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led alliance, election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishore's (PK) party Jansuraj has also fielded candidates.

Jansuraj Party entry in Bihar politics

First electoral test for PK's new Jansuraj Party in Bihar politics. PK himself has said that if we win all these seats, then the results of the 2025 elections will be decided in 2024 itself. PK talks about new politics to break the web of caste politics, he is talking about giving participation according to the population and is also focusing on issues like migration, employment.

This by-election of four seats is also being considered important in terms of how much space PK is able to make among the political experts like Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav.