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The Congress has pulled off a surprise victory in the by-election to the Kolebira Assembly constituency in Jharkhand. The party's candidate Naman Bixal Kongadi defeated his BJP rival Basant Soreng by 9,658 votes.
The Congress' win also marks the end of Jharkhand Party leader Anosh Ekka's hold over the tribal-dominated constituency. Ekka, who has been winning Kolebira for the past three elections, was convicted in a murder case earlier this year and had to vacate the seat. His wife Menon Ekka contested the by-election but ended up in fourth position, behind the Congress, BJP and the Rashtriya Sengle Party.
There are a number of reasons why the Congress’ win in Kolebira is important
With Menon Ekka finishing fourth, the bypoll also marks an end to Anosh Ekka's reign in Kolebira. The controversial strongman had dominated the area for the past 15 years, despite being embroiled in a number of cases. A few years back the Enforcement Directorate seized Ekka's properties in connection with a money-laundering case. The properties, which reportedly included houses in posh parts of South Delhi and Gurgaon, are estimated to have been worth Rs 100 crore. Ekka's wealth is in sharp contrast to the poverty of most of his voters – Kolebira is the same place where a 11-year-old girl died of starvation last year because her family's ration card wasn't linked to Aadhaar.
Ekka was often accused of colluding with the People's Liberation Front of India, a breakaway faction of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
In July this year, Ekka, along with a PLFI rebel called Dhanesh Baraik, was convicted for murdering a para-teacher named Manoj Kumar, who is said to have been a vocal critic of the Jharkhand Party leader.
His wife's defeat in the Kolebira bypoll would now mean a deeper crisis for the Jharkhand Party, which will now have very little bargaining power for a possible alliance with bigger parties in the run-up to the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections next year.
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Published: 23 Dec 2018,03:31 PM IST