The results of the two-phase elections to the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly were announced on November 23. In this election, the JMM-led ‘India’ alliance defeated the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. India Block won 56 seats and NDA 24 seats, while Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha won one seat.
The magic of former Chief Minister Champai Soren, who rebelled against the JMM and joined the BJP just before the elections, could not work in the Kolhan region. Of the 14 seats in this region, the BJP managed to win only 3 seats, while the JMM won 10 seats and the Congress 1 seat. After the NDA’s defeat in the elections, Champai Soren gave his first reaction in a post on X.
The BJP lost 11 of 14 seats in the Kolhan region.
He wrote: ‘Friends of Johar, as we had said before, our movement against the increasing Bangladeshi infiltration in Jharkhand is not a political or electoral issue, but a social campaign. We clearly believe that infiltrators should not receive any protection in this land of heroes. Today, the tribal community has become a minority in many districts, including Pakur and Sahibganj. If we cannot protect the lands of the sons of the soil and the dignity of the daughters-in-law who live there, then…?’
Friends of Johar,
As we had said before, our movement against the increasing Bangladeshi infiltration in Jharkhand is not a political or electoral issue, but a social campaign. We clearly believe that infiltrators should not receive any type of protection in this land of heroes…
—Champai Soren (@ChampaiSoren) November 24, 2024
Champai Soren further wrote, “After the election agitation, after paying tribute to the brave Sido-Kanhu, Chand-Bhairav and the brave Phulo-Jhano women, very soon we will begin the next phase of our campaign in the brave land of Santhal Parganá. Governments will come and go, parties will form and break, but our society must remain, our tribalism must survive, otherwise there will be nothing left. Once again there will be unrest in this. brave land. Jai tribal! Jai Jharkhand!’
The NDA’s campaign in Jharkhand focused on issues such as infiltrators changing the state’s demographics and grabbing tribal lands and jobs. Despite this, the Indian Alliance gained strong support in the seats reserved for the scheduled tribes. After inducting former JMM leader and six-time MLA Champai Soren into the party, the BJP had pinned its hopes on him to win the tribal seats.
Champai Soren won from Seraikela seat
Although Champai Soren won the Seraikela seat for the BJP, his influence was not visible in Kolhan. The NDA lost 11 of the 14 seats in the region, including key constituencies like Ghatsila, Potka and Jagannathpur. In Potka, Meera Munda, wife of former Union minister Arjun Munda, lost the election to JMM’s Sanjeev Sardar by a margin of 27,902 votes. Similarly, Champai Soren’s son Babulal Soren lost to JMM’s Ram Das Soren in Ghatshila by 21,974 votes.
Geeta Koda, wife of former chief minister Madhu Koda, lost to Sona Ram Sinku of the Congress by 7,383 votes in the Jagannathpur seat. Sita Soren, daughter-in-law of JMM patriarch Shibu Soren, lost to Congress’s Irfan Ansari by 43,676 votes in the Jamtara seat. Purnima Das Sahu, daughter-in-law of former chief minister Raghubar Das, was the only BJP VIP candidate to win. He won the Jamshedpur East seat by defeating Congress candidate Ajoy Kumar by a margin of 42,871 votes.
