Sun Nov 24 03:07:51 UTC 2024: **JMM-led INDIA Bloc Wins Jharkhand Assembly Elections in Landslide Victory**

Ranchi, Jharkhand – November 24, 2024 – Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led INDIA alliance secured a resounding victory in the Jharkhand Assembly elections, winning 56 out of 81 seats. This marks the JMM’s best electoral performance and the first time the same leadership has been consecutively elected in the state’s history.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the BJP, suffered a humiliating defeat, winning only 24 seats – a significant drop from the previous election. The BJP, despite campaigning heavily with top leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, won only 21 seats. Their campaign focusing on “Bangladeshi infiltration,” corruption, and demographic changes appears to have backfired. The NDA lost 27 of the 28 seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes.

The JMM secured 34 seats, Congress 16, RJD 4, and CPI(ML) Liberation 2. Hemant Soren himself won the Barhait seat, while his wife, Kalpana Soren, won Gandey. Other notable wins included Nishat Alam (Pakur), Basant Soren (Dumka), and BJP state president Babulal Marandi (Dhanwar).

Several prominent figures from both the NDA and the JMM lost the election. Among those defeated were the Leader of the Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri, Champai Soren’s son Babulal Soren, and Sita Soren. The wives of two former Chief Ministers, Geetha Koda and Meera Munda, also lost their respective races.

Analysts attribute the JMM’s success to several factors, including Hemant Soren’s popular Maiya Samman Yojana cash transfer scheme, the perceived victimhood narrative surrounding his arrest and imprisonment by the Enforcement Directorate, and strong support from tribal and Muslim communities. The BJP’s divisive rhetoric and internal party struggles, including the defection of some key figures to the BJP, also contributed to their defeat. A new political party, the JLKM, also emerged as a spoiler for the AJSU, winning one seat. The JMM’s vote share reached nearly 24%, its highest ever.

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