Ranchi, Nov 12 (UNI) A little over a month after the BJP pulled off a spectacular win in the Haryana Assembly polls, the NDA headed by the saffron outfit is set for another trial of strength with the INDIA bloc in Jharkhand on Wednesday.
43 of the total 81 seats in the mineral-rich tribal dominated eastern Indian state is up for grabs on the morrow in round one of the two-phase polls, with the ruling INDIA, led by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in the state, fighting to retain power in the face of a determined challenge by the BJP and its alliance partners.
With the BJP having defied all pre-poll predictions to hold on to Haryana for a historic third consecutive term last month in a face-to-face with the INDIA bloc fulcrum Congress, the outcome in Jharkhand could give a clearer sense of the political crosswinds blowing in the country five months after the Lok Sabha election.