Jamshedpur: The political atmosphere in the neighbouring district’s industrial city of Adityapur has reached a feverish pitch as campaigning intensifies for the Adityapur Municipal Corporation elections. In this high-stakes battle to elect the city’s government, three former Chief Ministers of Jharkhand — Arjun Munda, Madhu Koda, and Champai Soren — have thrown their full weight behind their respective strategies.
Leaders who once shaped the destiny of the entire state are now seen campaigning in Adityapur’s narrow lanes and addressing small roadside meetings to woo voters. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has held power in the municipal corporation for the past three terms, is aiming for a fourth consecutive victory.
The presence of Arjun Munda and Madhu Koda together at the BJP office in the RIT police station area has energized party workers. While Munda is highlighting development works and infrastructure expansion carried out over the past 15 years, Koda’s active participation has further strengthened the party’s local equations. Both leaders are engaging in small public meetings to gauge public sentiment.
Meanwhile, political circles are abuzz with discussions about Champai Soren’s strategy. Maintaining a certain distance from major BJP meetings, Soren is reportedly charting his own course. Though he has avoided sharing large public platforms with any specific candidate so far, his low-profile meetings and intensive outreach campaign are enough to keep opponents on edge. His silent but steady activism is seen as capable of influencing the election outcome in any direction.
On the other hand, the opposition alliance has entered the fray with a call for change. It argues that after three consecutive terms of BJP dominance, it is time for a power shift. Local issues such as water scarcity, slow progress of the sewerage system, and the holding tax have been raised prominently in an attempt to challenge the BJP’s stronghold.
With just a week left for polling, the electorate of Adityapur remains largely silent — a silence that has unsettled even seasoned political heavyweights. Whether the BJP will retain its seemingly invincible fortress or the opposition will succeed in turning the tide will be decided by voters on polling day. What is certain is that this contest is not just about candidates, but also about the political credibility of the three former Chief Ministers who have made this election a matter of prestige.
