Jharkhand Election Results 2024 LIVE: INC allies with JMM looks to beat NDA
Jharkhand’s 14 Lok Sabha seats saw the BJP and its old ally All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) face the INDIA bloc comprising of Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), RJD and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Lennin) Liberation [CPI(ML)L]. Exit polls suggest that BJP is set to retain its majority, winning over nine seats, while the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is likely to win the remaining.
As per the seat-sharing formula for the NDA, BJP is fighting on 13 seats while AJSU is contesting on the Girdih seat. On the INDIA group, Congress contested on seven seats, JMM five seats, and [CPI(ML)L] and RJD on one seat each. Polling was held in four phases on May 13, 20, 25, and June 1. The phase-wise voter turnout was 66.01% in phase 4, 63.21% in phase 5, while phase 6 and 7 saw 65.39% and 70.66%.
The election campaign was centred around ex-CM Hemant Soren’s arrest in a land scam case. Between Hemant Soren’s resignation on January 31 and the oath-taking of new Chief Minister Champai Soren on February 2, the state went nearly 40 hours without a Chief Minister. Following Mr. Soren’s arrest, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was also arrested in an excise policy case.
Key contests in the state include Union Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda, seeking a second term from Khunti and faced Congress’s Kalicharan Munda. The Soren family’s daughter-in-law Sita Soren, who jumped ship to BJP ahead of polls, faces JMM’s Nalin Soren for the JMM bastion – Dumka, a seat held by JMM chief Shibu Soren till 2019.
Another tough fight was witnessed between BJP’s National President of its tribal chapter Sameer Oraon and former Jharkhand Congress President Sukhdeo Bhagat for the Lohardaga seat. For Singhbhum constituency, the incumbent MP Geeta Koda, wife of former CM Madhu Koda, faces a tough battle as JMM has fielded five-term MLA Joba Majhi. In February, the Congress MP, Geeta Koda had joined the BJP. The capital city -Ranchi – witnessed tough competition between the Congress’ Yashashwini Sahay and incumbent BJP MP Sanjay Seth.
Follow the live updates for more information on the Jharkhand Election Results 2024.