The 2024 Jharkhand Legislative Assembly election was held in three phases from 13 to 20 November 2024 to elect all 81 members of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. The counting of votes was done on 24 November 2024. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha won 34 seats, securing 23.44% of the popular vote and its alliance, Mahagathbandhan (INDIA Bloc) including the Congress, CPI(ML)L and RJD won 56 seats, securing 44.37% of the popular vote. The Bharatiya Janata Party won 21 seats, securing 33.18% of the popular vote and its alliance, NDA won 24 seats, securing 38.14% of the popular vote.
Background The tenure of 5th Jharkhand Assembly was scheduled to end on 5 January 2025. The previous assembly elections were held in November–December 2019. The coalition of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Indian National Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal formed the state government, with Hemant Soren becoming the Chief Minister.
Schedule Poll eventPhaseIIINotification date18 October22 OctoberLast date for filing nomination25 October 202429 October 2024Scrutiny of nomination28 October30 OctoberLast date for withdrawal of nomination30 October1 NovemberDate of poll13 November20 NovemberDate of counting of votes 23 NovemberNo. of constituencies4338
Issues
Polarisation campaign The Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign focused on religious polarisation and ran a high decibel campaign on claims of "infiltration" by Bangladeshis. The party pushed the narratives of love jihad and land jihad with the claim that "infiltrators" were marrying tribal women and taking over tribal lands causing fall in the tribal population. The campaign characterised Muslims as infiltrators.
One video advertisement depicted a "horde of Muslims" including children moving into the house of a Middle-class family sporting a JMM flag was pulled down later by the ECI upon receiving complaints but after it had been widely circulated on social media. The video advertisement continued to be available on the BJP Jharkhand's verified Whatsapp channel and pushed by Twitter accounts which regularly engage in disinformation.
According to ground reports, even people who said they would vote BJP were skeptical of these claims, and it had caused apprehensions against the campaign particularly among tribals in the Kolhan region for reasons of impact on communal amity and being cast as part of the broader Hindu community. These claims were described as a bogey by civil society organisations which attempted to counter the narrative on the ground by bringing data to people that the fall in tribal population is not large and caused by factors like out-of-state migration of tribals for jobs.
Tribal Land Issues
Land rights of tribals continued to remain an core issue for the election. The previous BJP government led by Chief Minister Raghubar Das had introduced the policy of "land banks" in 2016 after failing to dilute the SPT and CNT Acts due to protests by tribals in which one person was killed in police firing. The land banks policy combined with the dilution of protections for tribals in the LARR Act by the Raghubar Das government in 2013 had led to increasing occurrences of takeover of tribal land by corporations and contractors over the years.
The BJP moved away from its usual strategy of pitting Christian and non-Christian tribals and instead to appeal to tribals attempted to portray Muslims as the "diku", a term generally used by tribals to refer to moneylenders, traders and administrators coming from outside the state and belonging to dominant caste groups. The party relied on Arjun Munda and Madhu Koda in tribal areas but their leaders faced significant pressure over the land issue.
Questions were also raised against the incumbent JMM over the issue. JMM had near the end introduced a bill to repeal the policy after urging from their coalition partner CPI(ML)L but the Governor had not given his assent to it. JMM campaigned on a platform of tribal culture, land and identity including a pledge to implement land registers to determine domicile status based on a 1932 survey.
Populist Schemes Election campaigns have focused heavily on populist welfare schemes. The JMM government’s Mukhyamantri Maiya Samman Yojana, which provides Rs 1,000 per month to women, was countered by the BJP's Gogo-Didi Yojana, promising Rs 2,100. In response, the JMM increased its scheme’s payout to Rs 2,500, effective December 2024. The BJP has also pledged subsidized LPG cylinders, monthly stipends for unemployed graduates and postgraduates, and extensive job creation programs.
State vs. Centre on Fund Allocation The JMM has accused the BJP-led Central government of withholding funds owed to the state, with Chief Minister Hemant Soren demanding the release of Rs 1.36 trillion in dues from coal companies. Soren has emphasized that the demand is for rightful state funds, not a special grant.
Corruption Allegations Corruption charges have taken center stage, with BJP leaders highlighting Soren’s alleged involvement in a land-related money laundering case. The JMM has countered these accusations by asserting that the BJP is targeting Soren unfairly because he is a tribal leader.
Voting
In the first phase of voting on 13 November 2024, electorates exercised their franchise across 43 Assembly constituencies spread over 15 districts contested by 638 candidates. The overall voting percentage was 66.65%. While 69.04% of women voters came out to press the EVM button, the percentage for men was 64.27% while just 31.02% of the third gender voted. In 37 of the 43 constituencies that voted in the first phase, the female voters had a higher turnout than males.
The maximum voting percentage was recorded in the Kharsawan Assembly with 77.32%. The next two seats were Baharagora (76.15%) and Lohardaga (73.21%). However, Ranchi saw the lowest polling with just 51.5% of the electorate participating in the election process.
The second phase on 20 November saw voting taking place in 38 Assembly seats. The number of candidates is 528. The polling percentage in 38 constituencies of Jharkhand was 68.45%.
Parties and alliances
Mahagathbandhan (INDIA Bloc)
(INDIA Bloc)
Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats contested Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Hemant Soren 43 Indian National Congress Rameshwar Oraon 30 Rashtriya Janata Dal Ram Kumar 7 Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation Manoj Bhakt 4
National Democratic Alliance
Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats contested Bharatiya Janata Party Babulal Marandi 68 All Jharkhand Students Union Sudesh Mahto 10 Janata Dal (United) Khiru Mahto 2 Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) Birendra Prasad Pradhan 1
Others Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats contested Bahujan Samaj Party Mayawati 81 Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha Jairam Kumar Mahato 68 Jharkhand Party Ajit Kumar 16 Communist Party of India Mahendra Pathak 15 Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) Chandrashekhar Azad 14 Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) Robin Samajpati 14 Samajwadi Party Akhilesh Yadav 12 Communist Party of India (Marxist) Prakash Viplav 9 Jharkhand People's Party Surya Singh Besra 8 All India Forward Bloc Arun Mondal 7 All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen N/A 7 Nationalist Congress Party N/A 24 Bharat Adivasi Party Prem Shankar Shahi Munda 19 Rashtriya Jankranti Morcha Abdul Mobin Rizvi 5
Candidates Voting Date District Constituency MGB NDA 20 November 2024 Sahebganj 1 Rajmahal M.T. Raja Anant Kumar Ojha 2 Borio (ST) Dhananjay Soren Lobin Hembrom 3 Barhait (ST) Hemant Soren Gamliyel Hembrom Pakur 4 Litipara (ST) Hemlal Murmu Babudhan Murmu 5 Pakur Nishat Alam Azhar Islam 6 Maheshpur (ST) Stephen Marandi Navneet Hembrom Dumka 7 Sikaripara (ST) Alok Soren Paritosh Soren Jamtara 8 Nala Rabindra Nath Mahato Madhav Chandra Mahto 9 Jamtara Irfan Ansari Sita Soren Dumka 10 Dumka (ST) Basant Soren Sunil Soren 11 Jama (ST) Louis Marandi Suresh Murmu 12 Jarmundi Badal Patralekh Devendra Kunwar Deoghar 13 Madhupur Hafizul Hasan Ganga Narayan Singh 14 Sarath Uday Shankar Singh Randhir Kumar Singh 15 Deoghar (SC) Suresh Paswan Narayan Das Godda 16 Poreyahat Pradeep Yadav Devendra Nath Singh 17 Godda Sanjay Prasad Yadav Amit Kumar Mandal 18 Mahagama Dipika Pandey Singh Ashok Kumar Bhagat 13 November 2024 Kodarma 19 Kodarma Subhash Yadav Dr. Neera Yadav Hazaribagh 20 Barkatha Janki Yadav Amit Kumar Yadav 21 Barhi Arun Sahu Manoj Yadav Ramgarh 22 Barkagaon Amba Prasad Sahu Roshan Lal Choudhary 20 November 2024 23 Ramgarh Mamta Devi Sunita Choudhary Hazaribagh 24 Mandu Jai Prakash Patel Nirmal Mahto 13 November 2024 25 Hazaribagh Munna Singh Pradip Prasad Chatra 26 Simaria (SC) Manoj Chandra Ujjwal Das 27 Chatra (SC) Rashmi Prakash Janardan Paswan 20 November 2024 Giridih 28 Dhanwar Raj Kumar Yadav Babulal Marandi Nizamuddin Ansari 29 Bagodar Vinod Kumar Singh Nagendra Mahto 30 Jamua (SC) Kedar Hazra Manju Devi 31 Gandey Kalpana Soren Muniya Devi 32 Giridih Sudivya Kumar Nirbhay Kumar Shahabadi 33 Dumri Baby Devi Yashoda Devi Bokaro 34 Gomia Yogendra Prasad Lambodar Mahto 35 Bermo Kumar Jaimangal Ravindra Kumar Pandey 36 Bokaro Shweta Singh Biranchi Narayan 37 Chandankiyari (SC) Uma Kant Rajak Amar Kumar Bauri Dhanbad 38 Sindri Bablu Mahato Tara Devi 39 Nirsa Arup Chatterjee Aparna Sengupta 40 Dhanbad Ajay Dubey Raj Sinha 41 Jharia Purnima Niraj Singh Ragini Singh 42 Tundi Mathura Prasad Mahato Vikash Mahato 43 Baghmara Jaleshwar Mahato Shatrughan Mahto 13 November 2024 East Singhbhum 44 Baharagora Samir Mohanty Dineshanand Goswami 45 Ghatsila (ST) Ramdas Soren Babulal Soren 46 Potka (ST) Sanjib Sardar Meera Munda 47 Jugsalai (SC) Mangal Kalindi Ram Chandra Sahis 48 Jamshedpur East Ajoy Kumar Purnima Das Sahu 49 Jamshedpur West Banna Gupta Saryu Roy Seraikela Kharsawan 50 Ichagarh Sabita Mahato Harelal Mahato 51 Seraikella (ST) Ganesh Mahali Champai Soren West Singhbhum 52 Chaibasa (ST) Deepak Birua Geeta Balmuchu 53 Majhgaon (ST) Niral Purty Barkunwar Gagrai 54 Jaganathpur (ST) Sona Ram Sinku Geeta Koda 55 Manoharpur (ST) Jagat Majhi Dinesh Chandra Boipai 56 Chakradharpur (ST) Sukhram Oraon Shashibhushan Samad Seraikela Kharsawan 57 Kharsawan (ST) Dashrath Gagrai Sonaram Bodra Ranchi 58 Tamar (ST) Vikash Kumar Munda Gopal Krishna Patar Khunti 59 Torpa (ST) Sudeep Guria Koche Munda 60 Khunti (ST) Ram Surya Munda Nilkanth Singh Munda 20 November 2024 Ranchi 61 Silli Amit Mahato Sudesh Mahto 62 Khijri (ST) Rajesh Kachhap Ram Kumar Pahan 13 November 2024 63 Ranchi Mahua Maji Chandreshwar Prasad Singh 64 Hatia Ajay Nath Sahdeo Navin Jaiswal 65 Kanke (SC) Suresh Kumar Baitha Jitu Charan Ram 66 Mandar (ST) Shilpi Neha Tirkey Sunny Toppo Gumla 67 Sisai (ST) Jiga Susaran Horo Arun Oraon 68 Gumla (ST) Bhushan Tirkey Sudarshan Bhagat 69 Bishunpur (ST) Chamra Linda Sameer Oraon Simdega 70 Simdega (ST) Bhushan Bara Shradhanand Besra 71 Kolebira (ST) Naman Bixal Kongari Sujan Jojo Lohardaga 72 Lohardaga (ST) Rameshwar Oraon Niru Shanti Bhagat Latehar 73 Manika (ST) Ramchandra Singh Harikrishna Singh 74 Latehar (SC) Baidyanath Ram Prakash Ram Palamu 75 Panki Lal Suraj Kushwaha Shashi Bhushan Mehta 76 Daltonganj Krishna Nand Tripathi Alok Kumar Chaurasiya 77 Bishrampur Sudhir Kumar Chandravanshi Ramchandra Chandravanshi Naresh Prasad Singh 78 Chhatarpur (SC) Radha Krishna Kishore Pushpa Devi Bhuiyan Vijay Ram 79 Hussainabad Sanjay Kumar Singh Yadav Kamlesh Kumar Singh Garhwa 80 Garhwa Mithilesh Kumar Thakur Satyendra Nath Tiwari 81 Bhawanathpur Anant Pratap Deo Bhanu Pratap Shahi
Post-poll surveys Polling agencyLead NDA MGB Others Axis My India 17–2749–59 1–6MGB People's Insight 42 33 6 NDA Chanakya Strategies45–50 35–38 3–5NDA Dainik Bhaskar 37–40 36–39 0–2Hung Electoral Edge 3242 7MGB Matrize 42–47 25–30 1–4NDA P Marq 31–4037–47 6–8MGB Times Now – JVC 40–44 30–40 1NDA People's Pulse 44–53 25–37 5–9NDA