Jharkhand Assembly Elections 2024
The Election Commission has announced the schedule for the assembly elections in Jharkhand, which will take place in two phases this year. Voting will be held in 43 constituencies in the first phase on November 13 while the remaining 38 constituencies will vote in the second phase on November 20. The counting of votes will take place on November 23.
Jharkhand is witnessing its fifth assembly election in its 24-year history, a period marked by political instability, with seven individuals occupying the chief minister's chair across 13 different tenures - with three instances of President's rule. Former BJP chief minister Raghubar Das remains the only chief minister to have completed a full term, from 2014 to 2019. Notably, no party has ever been re-elected for a second consecutive term.
NDA vs INDIA
In the 2024 elections, Jharkhand is witnessing a direct clash between the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress alliance and the opposition BJP-led NDA. The JMM-Congress alliance is hoping to retain power by banking on the achievements of the Soren government and solidifying support from tribal voters. BJP is hoping to make a comeback in the state after a strong show in Haryana. The saffron party is going all out to woo the tribal voters in the state and PM Modi is personally spearheading BJP's campaign in the crucial state.
The state witnessed political turmoil earlier this year after chief minister Hemant Soren was forced to resign due to his conviction and incarceration in a money laundering case. JMM appointed Champai Soren as the chief minister during his absence. The Champai Soren government managed to survive a floor test shortly after Hemant's arrest. However, Champai had to vacate the CM's chair after Hemant was released on bail. This caused some tensions in the party which ended in Champai jumping ship to BJP.
Seat-sharing pact
The Hemant Soren-led JMM is contesting 43 seats while Congress is fielding candidates in 30 constituencies. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will fight on six seats while the Left parties will contest the remaining three seats. In the NDA, BJP is contesting 68 seats while AJSU will field candidates in 10 seats. JD(U) is contesting two seats while the Chirag Paswan-led LJP (RV) is contesting one.
Jharkhand Election Results 2019
In the 2019 assembly elections in Jharkhand, the JMM-Congress combine emerged as the winner, displacing the NDA government led by chief minister Raghubar Das of the BJP. The JMM led by Hemant Soren won 30 out of the total 81 seats and the Congress bagged 16 seats to form the government in the state. BJP managed to win just 25 seats.In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP managed to win 9 of the 14 seats in the tribal-dominant state while the INDIA bloc bagged 5. The NDA had won 13 of the 14 seats in the general elections held in 2019.
