Union Minister and MP Arjun Munda loses Jharkhand''s Khunti seat by 1.49 lakh votes

Union Tribal Affairs and Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda

Union Tribal Affairs and Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda lost the Khunti Lok Sabha seat to Congress's Kalicharan Munda by 1.49 lakh votes, officials said.

Arjun Munda, a three-time chief minister, had defeated Kalicharan Munda by 1,445 votes in 2019.

Arjun Munda congratulated Kalicharan for victory and said people have given mandate to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to form government for the third time.

Kalicharan Munda gave the credit of his victory to party workers, partners of INDIA bloc and people of his constituency.

"People of Khunti have given a befitting reply to NDA. A big responsibility is now on my shoulder. I will make every effort to live up to the expectations of people here," he said.

Arjun Munda, the 56-year-old tribal leader, had also won a by-election for Lok Sabha seat from Jamshedpur and held the post of BJP's national general secretary.

Arjun Munda first became chief minister in March 2003 when he replaced Babulal Marandi after JDU and Samata Party MLAs revolted against the latter's style of functioning. He was the tribal affairs minister in the first Marandi-led NDA government.

The Union minister began his political career with the JMM during the statehood struggle before joining the saffron brigade.

He was first elected as MLA in 1995 in undivided Bihar and went on to win three consecutive terms from Kharsawan before losing the seat in 2014.