Ranchi: As many as 10 turncoats, including two former Pradesh Congress Committee presidents and an ex-BJP chief whip, bit the dust in the Jharkhand Assembly elections, the results of which were announced Monday.
All the candidates had switched sides after being denied tickets to the elections.
Former BJP spokesperson Praveen Prabhakar, who joined the National People’s Party (NPP) days before the commencement of the five-phase Assembly elections in Jharkhand secured the least number of votes among the turncoats. He got 987 votes in the Nala assembly constituency.
Ex-BJP chief whip Radhakrishna Kishore, who joined the AJSU Party after being denied a ticket, lost to BJP candidate Puspa Devi in the Chattarpur constituency. Kishore had quit the Congress to join the Janata Dal (United) before embracing the BJP.
Former Jharkhand PCC Chief Pradeep Kumar Balmachu lost from Ghatsila after contesting the seat on an AJSU party ticket. Another ex-PCC president Sukhdeo Bhagat, who contested from the Lohardaga seat on a BJP ticket, was defeated by incumbent PCC president Rameshwar Oraon.
Former Jharkhand BJP president and sitting MLA Tala Marandi lost from Borio after he contested the seat on an AJSU party ticket.
Phoolchand Mandal, who switched sides to the JMM from the BJP, lost in Sindri seat while former BSP MLA Kushwaha Shivpujan Mehta was defeated in Hussainabad, where he had fought also on an AJSU ticket.
Former MLAs Kunal Sarangi of the JMM and Manoj Yadav of the Congress lost in Baharagora and Barhi constituencies respectively after contesting the seats on BJP tickets.
Akeel Ansari, who was close to JMM president Shibu Soren but had joined the AJSU after being denied a ticket, lost to Congress candidate Alamgir Alam in Pakur.
Only a few turncoats emerged victorious in the elections.
Among them were ex-PCC president Sarfaraz Ahmad who won from Gandey constituency on a JMM ticket. Former minister Bhanu Pratap Sahi and ex-JMM MLA Jai Prakash Bhai Patel retained Bhawanathpur and Mandu constituencies respectively after contesting the seats on BJP tickets.
Agencies