Jharkhand polls 2024: Barhait, Lohardaga, Gandey among key constituencies

Elections in Jharkhand will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20 with the results to be announced on November 23

The Jharkhand Assembly elections, scheduled for November 13 and 20, 2024, are shaping up to be a significant political showdown. All 81 seats in the Assembly will be contested, attracting high-profile candidates from various parties who could play pivotal roles in the outcome.

 

Of the 81 constituencies, 44 are general, while 28 are allocated to Scheduled Castes (SC) and nine to Scheduled Tribes (ST).

 

Jharkhand has a total of 26 million voters, comprising 13.1 million men and 12.9 million women. Voters aged between 20 and 29 number 6.684 million, with 1.184 million first-time voters aged 18 and 19.

 

 

Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced that the INDIA bloc would contest the Jharkhand Assembly polls collectively. According to Soren, the Congress and the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha will run candidates in 70 out of the 81 segments in the Assembly. Vote counting is scheduled for November 23.

 

Outcome of the 2019 Jharkhand state polls

 

In the 2019 Assembly polls in Jharkhand, the Mahagathbandhan — a coalition of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Congress, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) — overthrew the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and assumed control of the Assembly.

 

The BJP won 30 seats, while the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance secured 44, with seven seats left vacant. This majority in the 81-member Assembly enabled Hemant Soren of JMM to be sworn in as Chief Minister.

 

Key constituencies in the Jharkhand Assembly elections:

 

Barhait: This constituency is particularly noteworthy as Hemant Soren, the incumbent Chief Minister and a member of the JMM, is running from this seat.

 

The BJP has chosen Gamaliyan Hembrom to oppose Hemant. Earlier, the BJP considered a prominent tribal figure from the Santhal Parganas area, former minister Lois Marandi, for this constituency.

 

In 2019, Hemant Soren won the seat with 73,725 votes. His nearest rival, Simon Marandi from the BJP, received 47,985 votes, and Hopna Tudu of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) (JVM(P)) secured 2,622 votes.

 

In the 2014 elections, Soren also won, obtaining 62,515 votes. His closest contender was Hemlal Murmu of the BJP with 38,428 votes, followed by Simon Marandi from JVM(P) with 14,161 votes, and Monica Kisku of the Congress, who received 7,151 votes.

 

Gandey: Hemant Soren’s wife, Kalpana Soren of JMM, will be contesting this seat, where BJP's Muniya Devi is her opponent.

 

In a 2024 assembly by-election, Kalpana Soren emerged victorious with 109,827 votes. Dilip Verma of the BJP received 82,678 votes, and 4,219 voters chose the None of the Above (NOTA) option.

 

In the 2019 assembly elections, Sarfaraz Ahmed of JMM won with 65,023 votes. BJP's Jai Prakash Verma earned 56,168 votes, while Arjun Baitha of the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) garnered 15,361 votes.

 

During the 2014 elections, Jai Prakash Verma of the BJP won with 48,838 votes. Salikhan Soren from JMM received 38,559 votes, and Sarfaraz Ahmed from the Congress secured 35,727 votes.

 

Dumka: A Scheduled Tribes (ST) seat, Dumka is contested primarily by the BJP and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).

 

Hemant Soren’s brother, Basant Soren, will represent JMM, while the BJP's candidate is Sunil Soren.

 

According to Election Commission records, there were 165,820 voters in Dumka during the 2019 Assembly Elections, with 83,310 men and 81,723 women. No voters belonged to the third gender, and 743 postal votes were counted. Dumka also had 272 service voters (262 men and 10 women).

 

In 2014, the Dumka constituency had 156,239 voters, of which 79,405 were men and 75,900 were women. Postal votes totaled 911, while service voters were 215.

 

Ranchi: The JMM has nominated Mahua Maji, a Rajya Sabha member, to oppose BJP incumbent CP Singh. Known as a BJP stronghold, Singh has secured this seat six times. In the last Assembly election, Maji provided strong competition, though Singh won by over 5,000 votes.

 

Lohardaga: Reserved for Scheduled Tribes, Lohardaga holds political significance, especially given its tribal and historical context. This constituency, located in the district west of the capital, Ranchi, is largely populated by tribal communities such as the Oraon and Munda. These communities have considerable influence over election outcomes, as most residents engage in agriculture and allied activities.

 

In 2019, Congress’ Rameshwar Oraon won the seat, defeating BJP’s Sukhdeo Bhagat.

 

The Lohardaga constituency had 245,000 electors in 2019 (125,000 men and 121,000 women), with 175,000 voters (87,000 each of men and women) casting ballots. Voter turnout was 71.23 per cent.

 

Dhanwar: Located in the Giridih district of Jharkhand and part of the Koderma Lok Sabha constituency, Dhanwar saw Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Democratic) leader Babulal Marandi defeat BJP's Laxman Prasad Singh by a margin of 17,550 votes in 2019.

 

Marandi’s victory was notable for the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Democratic) within Dhanwar. This Assembly constituency is included in the Kodarma parliamentary seat, where BJP performed well in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.