Ranchi
The JMM-led ruling alliance registered a thumping victory in the State winning 56 of the 81 Assembly seats. The BJP-led NDA managed just 24 seats. The JMM bagged 4 more than in 2019 to emerge yet again as the single largest party with 34 seats followed by the BJP at 21 seats, 4 less than last time.
Much to the dismay of the BJP, its high-octane campaign with the main agenda being the threat to Jharkhand’s tribals, especially those in Santhal Pargana, from illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators, failed to yield the desired results. The Modi Government’s spirited outreach to the community through mega tribal-centric schemes like PM-JANMAN and Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan among others too failed.
The incumbent JMM-Congress-RJD combine rode on its highly popular Maiyya Samaan Yojana, under which Rs 1000 was being given monthly to women aged 21-50 years and which is to be hiked to Rs 2500 after the new government is formed, to sweep the polls the magnitude of which even took them by surprise. The long serpentine queues of women at polling booths were an indication of it.
Having won all the 5 ST Lok Sabha seats in the Parliamentary polls held a few months back, the INDIA Bloc now won 27 of the 28 ST Assembly seats. There are 11 ST seats in South Chotanagpur, nine in Kolhan, seven in Santhal Pargana, and one in Palamu. Of the 28 ST seats, the JMM bagged 20 seats and the Congress seven seats.
Only former Chief Minster and latest BJP import Champai Soren could hold on to his turf of Seraikela. Interestingly, Champai defeated the JMM candidate, a former BJP man who fought against him earlier too but who switched over after having been denied ticket by the saffron party.
The BJP lost power in 2019 having won just two of the 28 ST seats, that too after its Government had lasted a full five years — a first in Jharkhand. In 2024, its performance only dipped a notch below. It lost both Torpa and Khunti which were the only 2 ST seats it had won in 2019. The BJP will have to seriously rethink its tribal outreach strategy. Its reliance on old tribal faces and leaders like Babulal Marandi and Arjun Munda is not working.
The BJP also has to take stock of its overall performance given its vastly reduced numbers. Sample this: It could win only one of the total 18 seats in Santhal Pargana, three of the 14 seats in Kolhan, two of the 15 seats in South Chotanagpur, four of the 9 seats in Palamu and 12 of the 25 seats in North Chotanagpur.
The BJP could find some solace in the fact that it cornered the maximum 33.18 percent vote share, almost 10 percent more than the JMM’s 23.49 percent.
Champai Soren, whom the BJP inducted into its fold with much fanfare and on whom it had pinned high hopes of delivering in the crucial INDIA Bloc fortress of Kolhan region, failed to deliver. While Champai could save his seat, he could not ensure a win for even his son Babulal Soren from Ghatshila.
With regard to JMM patriarch Sibu Soren’s family, Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s sister-in-law Sita Soren lost from Jamtara by a huge margin of over 43000 votes. She had switched over to the BJP before the Lok Sabha polls and was defeated from Dumka seat too. Hemant, his wife Kalpana, and younger brother Basant Soren all won their respective seats comfortably.
CM Hemant Soren will emerge stronger now both within the JMM as also the INDIA Bloc. The emphatic win under him goes on to indicate that the ED cases against him did not cut ice with the voters. His wife Kalpana Soren, who was a star campaigner for the INDIA Bloc and held around 100 rallies on her own, could also be given a more important and prominent role in the new regime.
JMM’s allies Congress repeated its 2019 performance while the RJD bettered its showing, upping its numbers from a lone MLA to four seats now. It could now demand a bigger share in the new Government. Its lone MLA was a Cabinet Minister in the Hemant Government.
Though the JMM-led combine swept the State, four of its Ministers lost in the hustings — Mithilesh Thakur from Garhwa, Banna Gupta from Jamshedpur West, Baby Devi from Dumri and Baidyanath Ram from Latehar.
Prominent among others who lost are AJSU chief Sudesh Mahto, BJP’s Leader of Opposition Amar Bauri, BJP’s Bhanu Pratap Shahi, former CM Madhu Koda’s wife Geeta Koda (her political future has taken a severe hit now), former JMM MLA and BJP candidate Lobin Hembram, CPI (ML)’s Vinod Kumar Singh and Congress’ Amba Prasad.
JMM’s Deepak Birua had the highest victory margin of 64835 votes while Congress’ Radha Krishna Kishore won by a wafer-thin margin of 736 votes. The LJP (Ram Vilas) and Jharkhand Loktantrik Karntikari Morcha opened their accounts in Jharkhand.
