Jharkhand Assembly results 2024: Turncoats who switched to JMM fare better than BJP counterparts

JMM is leading in 28 seats, Congress in 15 and its allies RJD and CPI(ML) in five and two seats respectively. BJP is leading in 27 seats

The Jharkhand Assembly results are a mixed bag of surprises for turncoats in the poll fray. As counting for the 81-seat Assembly is under way on Saturday (November 23, 2024), early trends indicate most turncoats who switched from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) are trailing in their respective seats, while those who switched from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or its ally All Jharkhand Student Union (AJSU) to the JMM or the Congress are leading. 

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Prior to the recently concluded Lok Sabha poll and this Assembly poll, some of the big names from the JMM to switch to the BJP are ex-CM Champai Soren, his son Babulal Soren, Sita Soren (wife of JMM chief Shibu Soren’s late son Durga Soren) and ex-CM Madhu Koda’s wife Geetha Koda. 

On the other hand, some of the top BJP leaders to jump ship to the INDIA bloc are Hemlal Murmu – ex-MP from Rajmahal who switched to the JMM in 2023, former AJSU MLA Umakant Rajak and ex-MLA Janki Prasad Yadav. Also in the fray is Jaiprakash Patel, who switched from the JMM to the BJP in 2019 and now to the Congress. 

How are turncoats faring?

Champai Soren 

Ex-Chief Minister Champai Soren‘s bastion Seraikella has favoured him, as he is leading by 8,542 votes over the JMM’s Ganesh Mahali. Since switching to the BJP, Mr. Soren has faced the ire of his JMM peers after he accused Mr. Hemant Soren of ‘insultingly removing him from the CM post’. Mr. Soren and Mr. Mahali have clashed previously in 2014 and 2019 and Mr. Soren had prevailed. Mr. Mahali, who himself hopped from the BJP to the JMM ahead of this poll, is set to lose to Mr. Soren for a third time, albeit with switched loyalties. 

Sita Soren 

Shifting from her current seat Jama to Jamtara, the estranged daughter-in-law of the Soren family, Sita (Murmu) Soren, is being trounced by the incumbent MLA. She is trailing by 14,495 votes behind the Congress’s Irfan Ansari. She had switched to the BJP after falling out with the Soren family over the Chief Minister’s chair after Mr. Hemant Soren resigned from the post. 

Geetha Koda 

Congress-turned-BJP leader Geetha Koda, who joined the saffron party days before the poll, is facing a tough fight in Jagannathpur. Currently seeking her third non-consecutive term, Ms. Koda is trailing by 1,006 votes behind the Congress’s Sona Ram Sinku. Apart from Mr. Sinku, the Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM)‘s Lakshmi Narayan Laguri is trailing by over 13, 079 votes.  

Babulal Soren 

Son of ex-Chief Minister Champai Soren, Babulal Soren, who jumped ship to the BJP with his father, is trailing by 1,500 votes behind the JMM’s Ram Das Soren from Ghatsila. Mr. Ram Das Soren has held the seat twice (2009, 2019) and is seeking a third term. 

Hemlal Murmu 

Hemlal Murmu, the BJP’s Rajmahal MP who lost his previous poll in 2019, joined the JMM in 2023 and was appointed party spokesperson. Miffed at being ignored, the JMM’s incumbent MLA Dinesh William Marandi, threatened to contest independently when Mr. Murmu was chosen but ultimately dropped his plans. Mr. Murmu is now leading by 9,832 votes over the BJP’s Babudhan Murmu. 

Umakant Rajak 

In Chandankiyari, AJSU-turned-JMM leader Umakant Rajak is leading by 4,660 votes over the JLKM’s Arjun Rajwar. Mr. Rajak switched to the JMM after the BJP renominated its two-time MLA Amit Kumar Bauri.  

Janki Prasad Yadav  

BJP leader Janki Prasad Yadav, who had lost the 2019 polls to Independent MLA Amit Yadav, switched to the JMM before the poll. He is now leading from Barkatha by 5,197 votes over BJP’s Amit Kumar Yadav. Since 2009, these two candidates have won this seat consecutively contesting on the BJP, Babulal Marandi’s Jharkhand Vikas Morcha and Independent tickets. 

Jaiprakash Patel

In Mandu, JMM veteran Tek Lal Mahto’s son Jaiprakash Patel is  leading on Congress ticket by 7,098 votes over the AJSU’s Nirmal Mahto. Mr. Patel had first quit JMM in 2019 and won Mandu on BJP ticket. Now, he has switched to the Congress as the BJP gave the seat to the AJSU as per seat-sharing formula. 

Election campaign

Led by incumbent Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the INDIA bloc mounted a defensive campaign against the BJP, which had wooed several top JMM leaders to its fold. The election campaign was divisive as the BJP accused the JMM-led coalition of thinking about “power and money”, appeasing Muslims and unleashing hooliganism. 

With intense scrutiny by Central agencies, the JMM and the Congress accused the BJP of hoodwinking voters, communalism and vowed to never let Uniform Civil Code and National registry of citizens be implemented in Jharkhand. The State recorded 67.74% turnout in the two phases in which polling was held peacefully, on November 13 and 20. 

(All trends are according to Election Commission of India)

Published - November 23, 2024 01:01 pm IST