Jamshedpur: With an eye on wooing minority votes the contestants in fray for Jamshedpur Lok Sabha seat have stepped up their campaign, knowing that it would be a tough contest this time.
Development of the constituency is no doubt the main poll plank of all the contestants but sensing the importance of minority voters, almost all the candidates have started wooing them. While some are visiting holy shrines like Masjid and Gurudwara others are seen participating in community related events.
Taking the lead, BJP candidate Vidyut Baran Mahto visited Chuna Shah Baba Majar, a holy shrine of Muslims at Bistupur and interacted with members of the community. He said that said that the BJP has played an important role in the welfare of the minorities in State and people must vote for him.
�I have come here not only to seek votes of the people but also to listen to their grievances if any. I have seen that people are generally not happy with state of affairs in Jamshedpur. Given a chance I would work for the all-round progress of the area,� noted Mahto.
“It was really nice to see BJP candidate offering prayers at our holy shrine. As a person Mahto has been very devoted. During his visit he also promised ensure welfare of the people,” said, Mohammed Rayees, functionary of Chuna Shah Baba Majar.
Meanwhile, the JVM camp is also quite confident of a major swing in the minority votes in its favour. It is making an all-out effort to woo the minority votes by projecting its candidate Dr Ajoy Kumar as a �secular man�. Dr Kumar is also seen interacting with the minorities giving patient hearing to their issues during the campaign.
JMM candidate Niroop Mohanty participated at Sarhul event organised at Karandih and sought support from members of the community.
According to political analysts of the city, the stand of the Sikhs, Muslims and other candidates could play an important role in the victory of candidates. Jamshedpur East, Jamshedpur West and Ghatshila assembly areas have a sizeable population of Sikh voters alone that exceeds to about 1 lakh votes. The strength of Muslims is equally good in the district.
Community based organisations too come into prominence in election time. The Bengali community came forward to extend their support to Jharkhand Vikas Morcha candidate Dr Ajoy Kumar in the Parliamentary elections. Addressing a meeting at the central election office of JVM at Rajasthan Bhavan, Vikas Mukherjee announced to support Dr Kumar. They said they had taken the decision after considering the pros and cons of the present pre-election scenario.
Meanwhile State Congress secretary SRA Rizwi Chabban said that every year candidates take keen interests to grab minority votes. They visit holy places to meet the people and seek support. I am of the opinion that it is high time for the voters to think twice before voting.
