Jharkhand Assembly election | North Chotanagpur in focus: BJP, INDIA bloc clash in Jharkhand’s political stronghold

Out of the five regions in Jharkhand, North Chotanagpur region is considered the most suitable path to reach the corridors of power.

It has 25 Assembly constituencies across seven districts.

Jharkhand Assembly elections 2024: Key dates and candidates This region includes Koderma, Ramgarh, Hazaribagh, Chatra, Giridih, Bokaro and Dhanbad districts.

In the 2019 elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a total of 25 seat in the Jharkhand Assembly, out of which 12 seats belonged to this region.

Congress had won 5 seats, JMM won 4 seats, and the RJD, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), and the All Jharkhand Student Union (AJSU) each won one seat, while one seat went to an Independent candidate.

The North Chotanagpur region is important because several prominent figures are in the fray, including Jharkhand’s first Chief Minister, Babulal Marandi, who is currently serving as the BJP state president, and Kalpana Soren, the wife of incumbent Chief Minister Hemant Soren, contesting from the Dhanwar and Gandey seats, respectively.

Both are general seats.

When Jharkhand became a separate state, Mr.

Marandi was a BJP MP from Dumka.

Shabbir Ahmed Qureshi, the CPI MLA from the Ramgarh seat, had passed away, after which Mr.

Marandi contested the by-election and won, thereby making him Jharkhand’s first chief minister.

Giridih district, which has six assembly segments, is central to North Chotanagpur, as it includes both Mr.

Marandi’s and Ms.

Soren’s assembly constituencies.

Mr.

Marandi faces two INDIA bloc candidates—JMM’s Nizamuddin Ansari and CPI (ML)’s Raj Yadav—who are in a friendly contest.

Meanwhile, Ms.

Soren will face BJP candidate Muniya Devi in the Gandey constituency, which she won in a by-poll in May 2024 after the previous MLA, Sarfaraz Ahmed, vacated it in January 2024 and was later given a Rajya Sabha ticket.

She entered politics when her husband was jailed in an alleged money-laundering case.

.

In North Chotanagpur, no seats are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (ST).

Out of the 81 assembly seats in the state, 9 seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC), with four of these seats in this region.

Both the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the INDIA bloc are vying to secure as many seats as possible.

In the 2009 elections, the BJP performed poorly, winning only three seats.

The then Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM), led by Mr.

Marandi, had won 7 seats before merging with the BJP.

Congress was in the second place with 6 seats, JMM had won 3 seats and the Left, RJD and AJSU had won 2 seats each.

In the 2014 “Modi wave,” the BJP rebounded to win a remarkable 16 out of 25 seats, while its ally, AJSU, won 2 seats.

The remaining seats went to JMM, Congress, and the Left.

In the 2019 elections, BJP won 3 out of the four SC-reserved seats, including Simaria, Jamua, and Chandankiyari.

The Chatra seat was won by the RJD.

Jharkhand Assembly elections: Full coverage In the 2014 elections, BJP won in the Chatra and Jamua seats.

Simaria and Chandankiyari seats went to JVM’s account; both JVM MLAs later joined the BJP.

Amar Kumar Bauri, who won from Chandankiyari, was appointed to the Raghubar Das cabinet.

Currently, Mr.

Bauri is Jharkhand’s Leader of the Opposition.

The North Chotanagpur region of Jharkhand is the most prosperous region in the state, largely due to the coal mines in Dhanbad, Chatra, and Ramgarh, often referred to as Jharkhand’s “coal belt”.

Additionally, the Bokaro Steel Plant contributes to the economy and gives it a distinct identity.

Hazaribagh farmers are also economically strong, thanks to the fertile land.

Naxalites, who once held sway in the Chatra and Giridih districts, are now nearly eliminated.

Koderma, with only one assembly seat, is famous for its mica mining and was once the world’s leading producer.

In Koderma, there’s a contest between sitting BJP MLA Neera Yadav and jailed RJD candidate Subhash Yadav.

Another noteworthy constituency in Giridih is Dumri, due to the candidacy of Jairam Mahato, an influential Kudmi leader popularly known as “Tiger Mahato.

” The founder of the Jharkhand Loktantrik Kranti Morcha (JLKM), Mr.

Mahato surprised established parties in Jharkhand with his unexpected performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

Mr.

Mahato fielded candidates in eight constituencies, placing third in six and garnering over 820,000 votes.

In Dumri, he faces JMM candidate Baby Devi, a cabinet minister and widow of Jagarnath Mahato, also known as “Tiger.

” She is in direct competition with AJSU candidate Yashoda Devi.

In Chatra seat, sitting MLA and Minister Satyanand Bhokta has fielded his daughter-in-law Rashmi Prakash on an RJD ticket, as he cannot contest after the Bhogta community’s shift from the SC to the ST category in Jharkhand.

In Jharia of Dhanbad, which is popularly known as Koylanchal, the contest is between two sisters-in-law: sitting MLA of Congress party Purnima Niraj Singh is contesting against Ragini Singh, as the BJP candidate.

As candidates of both camps are busy campaigning, the NDA has made Bangladeshi infiltration and corruption a big issue whereas the INDIA bloc is attacking the BJP over misuse of central agencies against opposition parties and talking about the government schemes launched by Mr.

Soren’s government.

Among them the cash transfer scheme - Maiya Samman Yojna - has become a big hit after which the BJP had to bring Gogo-Didi Yojna as part of their resolutions.

For this election, BJP has nominated candidates in 20 seats in the region, with allies AJSU and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) contesting four and one seat each, respectively.

JMM and Congress are each fielding candidates in 10 seats, with the rest shared between RJD and CPI(ML).

The first phase of elections is to be held on 13 November for 43 seats in Jharkhand.

In the first phase, voting will be held for 7 out of 25 seats of North Chotanagpur region: Koderma, Barkatha, Barhi, Barkagaon, Hazaribagh, Simaria and Chatra seats.

Voting for the remaining 18 seats of this region will be held on November 20.

.